Sister to the queen
by Lady Eleanor Boleyn
Summary: What if there had been another Boleyn girl - besides Mary and Anne? Anne's favourite sister? One who was just a child when half of this was going on? One who escaped when Anne died and who later became a second mother to Elizabeth? This is her story.
1. Childhood

_**Sister to the queen.**_

_What if there had been another Boleyn girl - besides Mary and Anne? Anne's favourite sister? _

_One who was just a child when half of this was going on? One who escaped when Anne died, and grew up with Mary's children? One who later became a second mother to Elizabeth? _

_Read on to find out the story of Eleanor Boleyn – Sister to the Queen!_

_Chapter 1 _

_Childhood_

_I never really knew my sister Anne. She went off to France with the Princess Mary, now Dowager Queen of France, while I was still a baby. She would write to our Mother occasionally, as did my eldest sister Mary, but written letters don't let you know a person – not properly. _

_No, the only one of my siblings I truly knew, in those early days of childhood, was my brother George. He was the one who played with me, comforted me, and helped teach me my earliest lessons._

_Yet I knew Anne too. _

"_How? She was never there." I know you're asking that question. I can hear you in my mind._

_Because I made her up. Father, Mother, George, even my governess told me stories about Anne – what she looked like, how bright she was, the scrapes she got into at my age, and numerous other details that my overactive imagination turned into a companion for me – my imaginary sister Anne._

_We had countless games together over the years, she running ahead, laughing, but still looking back, checking I wasn't lagging too far behind, and I struggling to keep up, but delighting in the fact that my elder sister wasn't too high and mighty to play with me._

_I knew it wasn't real, but it seemed like it. To me, a confident, lively but lonely little child, growing up in the lush gardens of Hever Castle, with an Ambassador for a father, a kind but often distant mother, and a brother five years my senior, who couldn't always be bothered to play the games that I liked to play, the bewitching, dark, fearless Anne Boleyn was a perfect companion._

_My Anne was a tomboy, a rough and tumble kind of girl, not at all the ladylike maiden that my cousins were, and I loved her for it._

_Imagine my surprise, then, when in the August of 1524, just after I had turned nine, I was confronted with the real Anna-Maria Jane Boleyn, and realised she was my sister._

_She wasn't the carefree tomboy I had envisaged, not at all. She was a gorgeous, graceful, arrogant young lady, who was more French than English, with a bewitching dark beauty evident in her flashing eyes and glossy chestnut curls, worn under a light French hood, set well back on her head. _

_I stared as she quickly embraced our elder sister, and then turned to me, wrapping me in her arms. _

"_Eleanor. Little Baby Eleanor. Why, can it be possible?" Anne exclaimed, crushing me close to her in a great bear hug._

"_Welcome home, sister." I gabbled, stepping back from her, trying to take her in, trying to match her up with the tomboyish companion I had created for myself out of the stories that I had heard about her._

_I couldn't, of course. It was well nigh impossible._

_Despite that, despite the disappointment I felt when I first saw her, we were sisters, we were each other's flesh and blood, and we were going to have to get along._

_Chapter 2 _

_Reunion_


	2. Reunion Return to Court

Author's note PLEASE READ: I realise that is going to be rather long, and I do apologise, but I thought I'd better explain a few details before we get any further into the story.

This is a slightly AU fic, although I shall try to stay as true to History as possible.

I have set Mary Boleyn's date of birth in 1505, Anne's in 1508, George's in 1510 and Eleanor's in 1515. Therefore they are now 19, 16, 14, and 9. Mary has already been the mistress of Henry VIII, and given him a daughter, Katherine, but he is now tiring of her, so the family have brought Anne home from France, to see whether she can catch his eye.

And now; on with chapter 2!

_Chapter 2 _

_Reunion – Return to Court_

_The next few days were difficult for all of us, as we learnt to shake down together and get along. Anne preferred George's company to that of the rest of us, and so those two would often disappear for hours on end, riding over the fields together, chattering and laughing._

_I, deemed too young to go along, would watch from the castle windows, overcome with jealousy, as they mounted their horses and clattered off out of sight, perfectly happy, needing no other source of companionship except themselves. _

_Resentment always flared in my heart when I saw them together. Innocent as I was, I had honestly believed that George would take me with him when he went riding with Anne, but why would he? Being only nine years old, I was just a child to him, a child to be spoiled and petted, but otherwise ignored, and I couldn't deny that, not to my brother, whom I idolised, nor to my sister, who was a grand young lady of 16 years, old enough to be married. _

"_I don't care! I __**don't**__!" I told myself. "Let them ride out without me. They're only going round to see the farms. What do I want with that?" _

_But I __**did**__ care, and I knew I did. Secretly, I longed to be accepted by my brother and sister, to be allowed to ride out with them, to be privy to the secrets they shared. Besides, if George and Anne ignored me, the only other person I could talk to freely was my eldest sister Mary, and she was always busy with her four year old daughter, Katherine. _

_Deprived of any other friendships, I withdrew into myself, relying more and more upon my fantasy Anne to keep me company throughout each day, wishing with all my heart that the real Anne would be more like mine from time to time._

_****_

_She was. Eventually, she was. I heard her footsteps on the stairs one morning, and presumed that she was just hurrying out to go riding with George again, but instead she put her head around the door of my schoolroom._

"_Eleanor. The rest of my gowns have arrived from France. Do you want to come and see?"_

"_Yes please!" I breathed, scarcely daring to believe my luck._

"_Come on, then, sweetheart."Anne smiled at me warmly, holding out her hand. At once, I sprang to take it, revelling in the attention. We rushed upstairs, tripping in our haste._

_As soon as we got inside Anne's bedroom, we slammed the door and panting, glanced at each other, and promptly collapsed into peals of helpless laughter._

"_Come on, we'd better get this unpacked." Anne groaned, gesturing at her trunk, which was almost bursting at the seams. "Want to start?"_

_I needed no second invitation. Almost running across the room, I fumbled with the lid of the heavy trunk._

"_Let me" Anne knelt down beside me, deftly opened the lock, and then graciously allowed me to fling back the lid, and take out the first gown, which I did, exclaiming with delight as I did so._

"_You were fine enough in France, sister!" _

_Anne nodded, surrounded by her dresses, cloaks, jewels and hoods. _

"_Which one's your favourite, little sister?" she asked, as we took out the last dress, and laid it on the bed. Leaning against her shoulder, I surveyed the glittering dresses critically, before stretching forward and making my choice._

"_This one." I told her, stroking the fabric of one of the richest gowns gently._

"_Try it on." Anne helped me out of my dress, and then left me to step into the other one while she sorted frantically through her vast collection of hoods. _

_Picking up the one the matched the dress, she laced me up at the back, and then set the hood on my head. Smoothing out my curls with her hand, she stepped back to take me in._

"_A veritable Princess – worthy of any court!"_

"_I knew her words were treasonous, but I didn't care. Basking in her praise, I twirled around the room again and again, showing off to Anne, making her laugh. _

_From that moment, we were sisters. Not strangers, but sisters._

_****_

_A few nights later, I woke up late in the evening, thirsty. I crept downstairs to get myself a drink of something, when I overheard my brother and sisters talking._

"_We'll be off to Court tomorrow, Anne. You do know what you've got to do, don't you?" Mary asked._

"_Put myself in the King's way, interest him, hold out for a while, and then let him try to get me pregnant with a bastard – like he did you." Anne replied calmly. I gasped. Mary had only had one child – Katherine. Was she really the King's daughter? She bore the name of Mary's husband, Sir William Carey. Was he not her father? And was Anne now supposed to take Mary's place in the King's affections? I couldn't believe it. It seemed impossible. _

_Mary, meanwhile, had heard my sharp intake of breath._

"_Who's there?" she cried, leaping up out of her seat. Shamefacedly, I stepped into view._

"_It's only me. I – I was thirsty." I stammered. _

"_Go back to bed, Eleanor. I'll get your drink." Anne said quickly, scrambling to her feet. I did as I was told._

_A few moments later, Anne came into my room, a cup of hot milk in her hand. Sitting up, I took it from her, smiling my thanks. As I sipped it, Anne sat down at the foot of my bed._

"_Are you looking forward to Court tomorrow?"_

"_Yes. It'll be the first time that I'll be there officially, though I've visited before, of course." I answered._

"_Hmm. You'd better get some sleep, darling. We'll be riding hard tomorrow." _

_Anne took the cup of milk from me, tucked me in, and kissed my forehead._

_Then she turned for the door._

"_Anne?" I couldn't resist. I had to know. "Do you mind having to go to Court with the express intention of seducing the King?"_

_Anne did not even bother to turn around. _

"_No, not really. I'm a Boleyn girl, a Howard girl, and Howard girls just have to do what they're told. I've been ordered to try and seduce the King. When you're older, you'll understand how this family works."_

_So saying, she left the room, the weight of her words hanging in the air behind her._

_****_

_We were up early the next day, as we had to ride to Greenwich Palace by supper-time. It was a gloomy day – grey, overcast, with a steady drizzle which drove into our faces, half-blinding us as we struggled to stack our things on the carts and mount our horses, ready to go, but our enthusiasm, fervent as it was, kept our hearts light and our spirits up, even as our riding habits, hats and cloaks became sodden and heavy._

_We dined well, but hurriedly, at a monastery along the road, and then swung back into the saddle in order to continue our journey. _

_Anne rode beside George for the best part of the morning, but after lunch, she dropped back to join me. _

"_Worst sort of weather for a journey, isn't it?" she asked. I nodded absently, half my mind on the lively grey pony I was riding. _

"_Yes, but the destination makes anything worthwhile."_

"_That's true." Anne agreed, before lapsing into silence for a while, as we trotted along, merry once more, every step taking us closer to Court. Suddenly Anne raised her voice in a song,_

"The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly tis speaking,  
the harp wind through it playing has language for me.  
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking  
a host of kind faces is gazing on me.  
The friends of my childhood again are before me,  
each step wakes a memory as freely I roam.  
With soft whispers laden its leaves rustle o'er me,  
the ash grove, the ash grove again alone is my home."

_To my delight, I realised I knew the song, and so, when Anne began to sing the second verse, I joined in, blending my voice harmoniously with hers._

"Down yonder green valley where streamlets meander  
when twilight is fading I pensively rove.  
Or at the bright noontide in solitude wander  
amid the dark shades of the lonely ash grove.  
Twas there while the blackbird was cheerfully singing  
I first met that dear one, the joy of my heart.  
Around us for gladness the bluebells were springing  
the ash grove, the ash grove that sheltered my home.

My laughter is over, my step loses lightness,  
old countryside measures steal soft on my ears;  
I only remember the past and its brightness,  
the dear ones I mourn for again gather here.  
From out of the shadows their loving looks greet me,  
and wistfully searching the leafy green dome,  
I find other faces fond bending to greet me,  
the ash grove, the ash grove alone is my home."

_We sang it over and over again, delighting in a pastime we could both do so well. We were still singing as George led us in through the ornately carved gates at Greenwich. Mary scowled at our lack of decorum, as, laughing, we slid gracefully from the saddle, and tossed our reins at the stable boys, before pausing to collect ourselves, smoothing down our gowns , and only then rejoining our siblings. We fell in behind them as George gave Mary his arm, and led us from the courtyard._

_Many a young man gave Anne an admiring glance as we passed, on our way to Queen Katherine's chambers. Young as I was, I wasn't blind to them, and although Anne tried to keep up a steady flow of light-hearted chatter, as we traipsed up the stairs, I could tell she wasn't either._

_George stopped outside a grand gilt door, and nodded to the man guarding it, who flung it open, and announced "Sir George Boleyn, Lady Mary Carey, Mademoiselle Anna-Maria Boleyn and Lady Eleanor Boleyn to see you, Your Majesty."_

_As I strode forward with my sisters and brother, and sank into a deep curtsey, I heard the guard pulling the door shut again._

_This was it. There was no going back now. _

_We had arrived at C ourt._


	3. Anne, Queen Katherine and the King

_Chapter 3_

_Anne, Queen Katherine and the King_

_Those were happy days, happy days for all of us Boleyns, as we settled into the routine of life at the English Court. I was appointed companion to Princess Mary, and became close friends with her other childhood companions__: Frances, Eleanor and Henry Brandon, son and daughters of His Majesty's sister, the Dowager Queen of France. _

_Anne and Mary joined Queen Katherine's household, and were accepted, though perhaps not given a warm welcome. _

_In October, George was married, on our uncle's orders, to Jane Parker, a woman all we younger Boleyns despised, but who had valuable family connections. I was maid of honour, and Anne was chief bridesmaid._

_The King presented George with the manors of Grimston, a fine place in our uncle's dukedom, Norfolk, and Rochford Hall in Essex. _

_He also danced with Anne several times, and no-one could blame him. Clad as she was in her gown of pale green velvet edged with silver thread, she outshone any other lady in the room, or at least, she did in my eyes, though, naturally, I was biased._

_****_

_Over the next few days and weeks, the admiring glances Anne had drawn from her many admirers before this began coming from the King. He sent her dishes at supper, and trinkets arrived in our rooms, grand, expensive trinkets that could only have been of royal origin__. I was spellbound by their beauty, and wondered how my sister's head could not be turned by these marvellous gifts. _

_Anne,__ however, truly seemed immune to the King's romantic behaviour, for no sooner were George and Jane Parker formally wedded and bedded, than she began encouraging the attentions of our distant cousin, Thomas Wyatt. _

_I couldn't understand it. If I had been but 3 or 4 years older than I was, if it had been me in her place, I would have been rushing headlong towards His Majesty, for I had fallen head over heels in love with him. _

"_Would you now?" Anne asked me, her mouth quirking upwards in a smile of amusement and satisfaction._

"_Yes!" I took off her French hood, and freed her hair to brush it for her, as I did every day. She loved my gentle touch as I did it, and, to be honest, I loved doing it. It was the only time of day I had her solely to myself, for captivating as she was, a flock of entranced courtiers surrounded her at all other times. Besides, I had my duties as a companion to fulfil as well. I couldn't very well just trot around after my sister like a little dog._

"_Ah, but Eleanor, that would cool his interest, you see. He's a man above all else, and a sporting one at that. He enjoys the passion of the chase. Be too easy to catch, and you'll be too dull for him." Anne glanced up and her dark eyes met my deep blue ones._

"_Entrap a man by all means, but if he realises it, you're stuck. The trick is not just to spin your web around him, but to do it in such a manner that he honestly believes he is pursuing you – not the other way around. __**That,**__ my dear sister, is the art of being a woman." Anne closed her eyes in contentment as I continued to sweep the heavy, silver backed brush through her rich dark hair, my mind in turmoil. Surely it was better to become the King's mistress, to enjoy his favour, than it was to ignore it, and risk him transferring his affections to another woman?_

_When I voiced these suspicions to Anne, however, she leapt to her feet, and seized my arm in a grip of steel._

"_Hush, Eleanor! You know not what you say! You're a child, that's all. Nothing more and nothing less. Those are the words of a child. Now, sweetheart, I happen to be a woman reared in the French Court, so I understand men. As you do not, you will leave me to play this game my way, and you will keep your mouth shut! Do you __**understand**__?" _

_Desperate for her love, her tenderness, her fondness, I nodded._

"_Good girl. Now go on, or you'll be late with your lesson with Princess Mary." Anne kissed me goodbye, sisterly and tender once more._

_****_

_I kept my mouth shut, but my eyes peeled. I watched Anne like a hawk, watched how she all but ignored the King, openly preferring the attention and courtship of our married cousin Thomas, who wrote her poem after poem, and who sent her notes, sweetmeats, even a paltry gift or two. I noticed how, if His Majesty deliberately engaged her in a conversation that she could not avoid, she used her swift brain to her advantage, and entrapped him with her clever wordplay, before taking her leave. She seemed outwardly polite and courteous all the time. Not even I, in those early days, guessed that she was playing for the highest price of all._

_One morning, Anne was in the corridors of Greenwich Palace, when she crossed paths with His Majesty and Queen Katherine. I do not know what she said to them, but that very afternoon, instead of being shut up in the schoolroom with Princess Mary, I found myself in the woods, cantering along a thickly overgrown path, hunting with the King. Anne was ahead of me, beside His Majesty, while Mary and George lagged behind us._

_Suddenly, a movement in the bushes caught my eye. Without further ado, I swung my bow off my shoulder, notched an arrow, and let fly._

_There was a deathly shriek, and then silence. _

"_Oh, good shot, Eleanor!" George cried, drawing rein, dismounting, and fetching my first prey from the shrubbery for me. It was a reasonably sized rabbit, brown in colour, with a thick fur._

"_Thank you, brother." I replied, as Anne and the King also checked their horses, looking back to see what was going on. George held up my rabbit for the King's inspection._

"_My sister shot it, Sire. Is she not indeed a natural?"_

"_Aye, it's a fine rabbit, to be sure. Well done, Lady Eleanor." King Henry glanced approvingly at me. _

"_Thank you, my lord." It was of course impossible to curtsey to him while I was in the saddle, but I could, and did, incline my head to show I acknowledged his praise. _

"_Let's ride on!" he snapped suddenly, reminded that he had not got the first prey of the hunt. As the King dug his heels into the horse's sides, George scrambled back up on to his horse, and flashed me a comforting smile, because my face fell as Anne barely spared my rabbit a fleeting look, before galloping on. _

"_Henry just likes to be the victor. When he gets the stag he's looking for, he'll be fine about your shot. Don't worry, Eleanor, Anne's proud of you really, she just hasn't time to show it." Mary whispered kindly, before spurring her horse onwards. Blinking back tears, I followed._

_****_

_That evening, when we returned to Greenwich, the surrounding woods were two rabbits, a stag and a doe worse off. The King, joyfully flushed with the success of the hunt__, led us Boleyns back to Queen Katherine's rooms at a run. _

_The Queen was there, placidly sewing away at yet another altar cloth, and so was Princess Mary, playing the lute for her mother. I hurriedly seated myself on a stool near her._

_The King clapped when she had finished, but then looked round for other sources of entertainment._

_Winking at me, Anne offered to sing for him, and promptly launched into the song we had sung together on the journey to Court._

"The ash grove, how graceful, how plainly tis speaking,  
the harp wind through it playing has language for me.  
Whenever the light through its branches is breaking  
a host of kind faces is gazing on me.  
The friends of my childhood again are before me,  
each step wakes a memory as freely I roam.  
With soft whispers laden its leaves rustle o'er me,  
the ash grove, the ash grove again alone is my home."

_As __I had done then, I raised my voice to meet with hers, and the King was awestruck. He listened in silence, and once we had ended our duet, he strode out of the room without so much as a farewell to either his wife or his daughter. _

_Anne made to follow him, but the Queen detained her._

"_Mademoiselle Boleyn, do not think I do not pay heed to what you are doing." Her voice was as hard as nails, and her steady gaze outmatched even my sister's._

"_You seek to charm the King away from my bed and into yours. Well, I warn you, Anne Boleyn, he is my boy, and he will always be my boy, wherever he is, whatever he is doing. Remember that."_

_Anne curtsied silently, before sweeping from Queen Katherine's chambers as though she owned half the palace. I followed hastily._

"_What are you going to do? About Queen Katherine, I mean?" I asked worriedly. Would all our hard work now be undone? _

_Once again, I had underestimated Anne's determination. She whirled around to face me, posture erect, jaw set, dark eyes flashing._

"_I'm going to prove her wrong. I'm going to make him marry me. I'm going to set Katherine aside, and take her crown. _

_And if you so much as __**breathe**__ a __**word **__to __**anyone,**__ I will __**kill**__ you!"_

_With that, Anne spun on her heel, and marched away, leaving me to stare after her retreating back wordlessly. _

_She wouldn__'t really do it._

_Would she?_

AN: Thank you for all the reviews! They really make my day, and I'm sorry it's taken longer this time, but I ended up with a mild case of writer's block. I'm still not perfectly happy with this, but at least Anne's temper and determination has now made an appearance!

Read and review, IF you please!


	4. Declare I dare not

AN: This chapter includes a time jump. Current ages after time jump – Mary 20, Anne 17, George 15, and Eleanor 10. Also includes a few lines of "Everything's all right" from Jesus Christ Superstar. I do **not own **the song – it just fitted the moment. R&R please.

_Chapter 4_

_Declare I dare not_

_As the months rolled gently past, and stretched into a year, Anne continued to cast her spell on His Majesty. She sang his songs, laughed at his jests, rode out with him, even danced with him upon occasion, but all the time, she was very careful never to let him have his way with her. In fact in public, she often pretended to ignore his amorous glances altogether. Instead she drew a small knot of admiring courtiers around her, and began to regale us with tales of life at the French Court. _

_Even Princess Mary liked her at first, when she thought that her father would tire of Anne after a few months, although that changed very quickly when she saw him dance a Volta, the ultimate dance of seduction with my sister, and realised how serious he was about her._

_However, this did not affect our friendship, so I had a happy year in the Princess's household, sharing her games and lessons, joys and sorrows._

_But it all changed very suddenly._

_****_

_One cool morning in October 1525, Anne, Mary and I woke to an insistent rapping on the door. _

"_Get it, Eleanor, would you darling? Your bed's closest." Mary moaned, rolling over. Sighing, I swung my legs out of bed, wrapped a cloak around myself, and did as I was told. _

_I opened the door to a page in russet and black livery. Howard livery. _

"_Miss Eleanor. Good morning. I've been sent to inform you that His Grace the Duke of Norfolk requires your presence at a Howard council. Lady Anne's in particular." The lad, who could not have been much older than me, bowed slightly before moving away. _

"_Thank you." I called after his retreating back, before shutting the door, and turning to my sisters. To my horror, they had gone straight back to sleep. Calling their names, I shook them awake again._

"_Mary! Anne! Get __**up,**__ for God's sake. __**Get up!**__ Uncle wants to see us!" _

_That did the trick. Anne jumped up, and ran to her mirror, unplaiting her hair, and letting it fall loose around her shoulders as she went. Mary, meanwhile, dashed to the clothes press, flung it open, and pulled out her pale blue satin gown, and my matching one. _

"_Come here, Eleanor." she snapped, reaching out for me. I pulled back. Anne always dressed me – I didn't want Mary to do it now, not even because we were in a hurry. _

"_Anne, will you lace me up?" _

"_Oh__**, Eleanor!**__" she groaned. "Not today, we're in a hurry. Mary will do it today." _

_I didn't want that, so turning to Anne once more, I cocked my head on one side, and switched on my most pleading gaze. _

"_Please, Anna-Maria? Pretty please?" _

"_Oh, very well. Turn." _

_Anne laced me up hastily, and then let Mary lace her emerald green silk dress up as tight as she could. Grabbing her jewelled hood, she set it well back on her head, and led us from the room at a run, lifting her skirts high with one hand. I could tell she was nervous, because she wasn't her usual poised self – her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing rapid and shallow._

_Two minutes later, we all slipped into my uncle's private chambers._

"_Uncle, good morning." Mary spoke for all of us, as we curtsied low before him. _

"_Anne. Mary. Eleanor." His voice was cool and disapproving. "Where have you been?"_

"_Forgive us, Uncle. We came as quickly as we could." Mary murmured, keeping her eyes lowered, and her tone respectful._

"_Not quickly enough, niece. Not quickly enough. Sit."_

_With a rustle of silk and satin, we did as we were told. Uncle turned to Anne. _

"_Anna-Maria."_

"_Yes, Uncle?" Her tone was inquiring, but there was an edge of steel to her voice, as she raised her eyes to his._

"_The King seems taken with you."_

"_Does he?" Anne tossed her head proudly. "I hadn't really noticed."_

"_George here tells me he sends you trinkets. Is this true?" _

"_Expensive ones!" George burst out, and I nodded vigorously._

"_They're beautiful!" I exclaimed, before I could stop myself, but all I managed to do was earn myself a painful cuff on the back of the neck from Anne._

"_Hush, Eleanor!" she hissed fiercely, before answering our uncle's question. "Yes Uncle. It is true he sends me trinkets, though I do not think much of them." she replied calmly, sitting up straight._

"_Does – Does he invite you to his bed?" Uncle asked. _

_I was mystified by this query; George suppressed a sigh, Mary a groan, but Anne merely looked affronted. She tossed her stunning hair back and gasped in horror, disgusted revulsion written all over her face._

"_God, no! Even if he did, Uncle, I would not go. I would not go." _

_Uncle's head snapped up at that. He leapt to his feet, and strode over to Anne. She swivelled in her chair to face him._

"_You would not go?!" His hand came around Anne's throat, threatening to choke her. _

"_You would not go?! You would refuse an invitation to__** the King's bed**__? Do you not care for the advancement of this family?" Uncle ranted at her, a vein pulsing in his temple. _

_I shrank back beneath his anger, but Anne had a temper to match Uncle's own. She leapt to her feet._

"_I would refuse __**because**__ I care about this family! I know how it is with men. They blow hot, they blow cold, and the King more than most! _

_My God, Mary is known as the Great Whore! Mary! My own sister! And you want me to follow in her footsteps? I think not! _

_The only time I would ever, __**ever **__bed the King is if I was married to him!" _

"_And how, exactly, do you intend to achieve __**that**__, my dear Anne?" Uncle scoffed._

"_I would entrap him. Beguile him. Weave my web around him so tightly – so cleverly, so sweetly, and so securely, that he could never find his way out. Then I would ask him to marry me and make me Queen!" Anne replied confidently, so confidently in fact, that even Uncle stepped back a pace or two._

"_Is that so?" he half whispered. I could almost see his sharp Howard mind whirring as he put two and two together in that calculating way of his. Anne nodded._

"_Let me play this my way, Uncle. Let me try and take the King's heart in such a way that no-one else can steal it back from me – not even Queen Katherine herself." _

_He thought for a moment. Then he played his cards, exactly the way Anne wanted him to._

"_Very well, Anna-Maria. I'll give you a few months. __**But**__, if we're no further forward at Easter, you'll have to start doing as you're bid by the family. Is that clear?"_

"_As crystal." Anne answered him almost mockingly and Uncle frowned before dismissing us from his chambers._

_****_

_**February 1526**_

_On the 18__th__ of February, at a joust held to mark the Princess Mary's birthday, the King rode out under the motto "Declare I dare not". _

_It was a motto which puzzled half the Court. Some people believed it meant he had taken yet another mistress, and deserted my sister Mary for good, while others supposed that he was subtly declaring, that my sister, who had just had a healthy baby boy, named Henry, was in his favour once more, that __**he**__, not Sir William Carey was the father of the child. _

_Very few people guessed the truth. Very few people thought to look to my __**other **__sister, Anne, as she quietly sat with the other ladies in Queen Katherine's household, the tiniest touch of triumph in her sparkling eyes, the smallest smile of seduction on those rosy lips of hers._

_But I knew what it meant. As the King prepared himself for the joust, I closed my eyes and let the memory wash over me._

_****_

_(Flashback)_

_Anne came storming into our little room in a temper._

"_The nerve! I can't __**believe**__ he dared!" _

"_What? Anne, what is it?" I looked up from my embroidery – a little christening gown I was sewing for Mary's new baby – as my sister's irate shadow fell over my work. _

_As George entered behind her, I shot a helpless, pleading look at him, silently begging him to tell me what had happened._

"_King Henry just asked her to become his favourite, his "mistress en treite"" he whispered, as Anne strode up and down by the window, muttering and cursing under her breath._

"_What?! What did she say?" I gasped, raising my voice a little too high in my surprise. Whipping round, Anne glared daggers at me._

"_No, of course! What do you __**think**__ I said?"_

"_But - Uncle said - "_

"_I don't care what Uncle said. If I mean to persuade the King to annul his marriage to Queen Katherine for my sake, then I can't afford to be a Whore." Anne broke in snappishly. _

"_Well, what did you tell the King? He's so used to exactly the opposite. Did he not get angry with you?"_

"_I told him pretty much exactly that. I told him that if he wanted me, he'd have to play the lover and court me properly, even though I would not dare bed him while Queen Katherine lived. He actually seemed quite intrigued." Anne replied promptly, though tension remained in her neck and shoulders. George went to her, and slipped an arm around her._

"_Don't worry, Annie" he murmured softly into her ear, pushing her dark hair back, and using his pet name for her. "I'll back you up. I'll go to him and tell him that you're the flower of the family, that there's to be no bedding before you're wed – whoever asks."_

_George hurried to the door, and Anne threw herself on her bed, hiding her face as the angry tears that shone in her dark eyes threatened to spill over. _

_Cautious, but unable to leave my sister in such distress, I sat on the edge of the bed, and caressed Anne's glossy tresses with one hand, crooning a song as I did so._

"Sleep and I shall soothe you.

Calm you and anoint you.

Then you'll feel everything's all right, yes, everything's fine.

And it's cool and the ointment's sweet.

For the fire in your head and feet…"

_My voice trailed off, but Anne was already asleep, worn out with the emotion of it all. Swiftly and silently, I gathered my embroidery things together, and crept out of the room._

_****_

_(End Flashback)_

_Suddenly, I was jolted out of my reverie by the sound of clapping. It seemed the King had made a good pass in the Jousting. I rose to my feet, applauding._

_As I did so, I glanced across at my sister Anne, who had also risen, and was leading the Court in their approval of the King's pass._

_By refusing His Majesty's advances, she had steered us Boleyns in a totally different direction, had led us on to a never-before trodden path._

_Who knew where we were going to end up?_


	5. The King's proposal

AN: In the argument in this chapter, Mary says that the King still invited her to his bed when Anne came to Court. He did, but in the curtest and most dishonourable way possible. However, although Mary has always known that Anne was meant to seduce the King and take him from her, but now that it is actually happening, she can't bear it.

On with Chapter 5!

_Chapter 5 _

_The King's proposal_

_Anne led the King a merry dance as he fel__l more and more in love with her. She would dance with him, ride with him, laugh at his jests as any other woman of the Court did, but she did more than that – she matched him._

_She matched him wit for wit, hunt for hunt, dance for dance, and jest for jest. _

_And as she did so, I watched her. _

_I watched her every move, wanting to be there for her, to help her hold him if necessary, but also to learn from her. To learn how to interest a man, and to keep his interest simmering. _

_I wasn't even eleven years old, but at the Tudor Court, you grow up quickly. _

_Anne was sisterly, she was tender. In fact, most people who watched her with us truly believed that she was actually trying to keep the King's interest on Mary, not on herself._

_Mary and I knew differently, though. _

_When Anne and I visited Mary in her chamber, to admire her new-born son, Henry William Carey, an argument blew up between the two of them._

"_How __**can**__ you, Anna-Maria? You know I loved him – and he loved me until __**you **__came back!" Mary screamed, tears truly glistening in her angry sapphire eyes._

"_He was tiring of you, Mary! That's exactly __**why**__ I was brought home from France!" Anne yelled back at our sister, her voice strained and harsh._

"_He still invited me to his bed!"_

"_He took you like a harlot, you mean!"_

"_Let me play this my way, Anne! I didn't do badly with him!"_

"_**Didn't**__. Past tense. I have him in my coils now, Mary, and you've got to accept it!"_

"_Do you speak to him like this, Anne?" Mary gasped, leaning back as her brain processed Anne's words._

"_I speak to him any way I like! He doesn't care! Could you have afforded to be that careless?"_

_Mary shook her head mutely. Anne scrambled to her feet in triumph._

"_I thought not. See? My star's on the rise now, Lady Carey, and you'll leave the King to me. Understood?" _

_Anne whirled around and went to the door._

_Mary hissed "You watch your step, Anne. It's not all pleasure being the King's sweetheart__. You're rising higher than I ever did, it's true, but that also means you've much further to fall. I pity you when he tires of you." _

"_I'm not going to fall, because I'm not going to become his sweetheart. I'm going to become his wife. You just watch, Mary. You just watch and be envious.__" Anne swept from the room as if she were Queen already._

"_Eleanor?" Mary looked to me for support. Her voice trembled, as though she was trying to fight back tears. As I glanced at her, I was forced to choke back my own._

"_I'm sorry, Mary." I gulped, before I turned for the door, and followed Anne Boleyn, my favourite sister, and the favourite of the Court._

_****_

_A few weeks later, I was walking Princess Mary's dogs in the gardens of Richmond Palace, alongside my closest friend, the Lady Frances Brandon, daughter of Sir Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor, Dowager Queen of France. She was a beautiful, bold young girl of only 8 years old, but she knew when to keep her mouth shut, and because of that, I trusted her above all others. _

_Suddenly, as we turned a corner, we came upon King Henry and Thomas Wyatt – my sister's suitors – playing a game of bowls. We lingered, mildly interested, when all of a sudden, an argument blew up between them. _

"_I tell you, Wyatt, it is mine!" King Henry snapped._

"_Your Majesty, if you will allow me, I will use this trinket to measure the shots." My cousin knelt and drew from his doublet a jewel on a piece of ribbon. As I saw it, I had to stifle a gasp of horror at his folly. It was one of Anne's jewels – the King was bound to get jealous._

_Thomas Wyatt, however, heedlessly set about his task, and measured each of the shots meticulously. When he found that his shot was indeed closest to the target, he gazed up at the King in surprised delight._

"_You see, Your Grace. I am the winner."_

"_It may be so, but then I have been deceived!" His Majesty growled, before throwing down a crown, and marching off sullenly._

_I whipped round to face Frances._

"_Frances, take the dogs back to Princess Mary. I have to warn my sister that the King's in a temper." I gabbled, praying that Frances's knowledge of ambitious families would explain everything. _

_It did._

"_Go, Eleanor. I'll explain to Her Highness!"_

"_Thank you, Frances!" I spun around and dashed off._

_Luckily Anne was in her rooms when I crashed through the doors, and doubly lucky – she was alone except for George. _

_As I doubled over, gasping for breath, they glanced up, and then moved like lightening._

_Fast as a snake, George slammed the door of Anne's bedchamber, while Anne herself took me in her arms, and drew me to the fire. _

"_What is it? Eleanor, what is it? What's the matter?"_

"_The King. The King realised Thomas had one of your jewels, and he's in a foul mood because of it. I've just dashed all the way from the fountains to tell you." _

"_Good. You've done well. You're as welcome here as the Angel Gabriel." Anne caught me in her arms again, and hugged me with all her strength._

_George looked on, nonplussed._

"_Anna-Maria, have you lost your mind? The King's in a temper – that's bad." he burst out eventually._

"_No, George, it isn't. He's angry because Thomas has one of __**my**__ jewels. He's fighting Wyatt over __**me.**__ Don't you see? This is exactly what I wanted. Mark my words; before the summer's out Thomas will have been banished, and His Majesty will have proposed to me."_

_Anne ran to her clothes press, and began to select her dress for supper, humming merrily as she did so._

_George and I exchanged sceptical glances._

_****_

_However, Anne was right. _

_As soon as the sailing season started, our cousin Thomas was packed off to France on a diplomatic mission that would take months to complete. I suppose it was a way to make sure that he left the Court with honour, but everyone knew the real reason – King Henry was in love with my sister, and he didn't want any competition for her affections._

_Barely a week later, a page dressed in Royal livery came to fetch me and take me to the King's apartments. _

_Puzzled, I went along, but when I got there, I saw the King and Anne standing before the fireplace, with Father, George and Mary, newly returned to Court from her confinement, ranged about them. _

_I nodded my thanks to the page, and went to join them._

_I'd scarcely got there before King Henry began to speak._

"_Lady Anna-Maria Jane Boleyn, with this ring, I pledge myself, Henry Edward Robert Tudor, to you."_

"_With this ring, I take you." Anne replied, accepting the ring of gold set with emeralds, and clenching her fist around it. _

_I stood there, speechless._

_My sister, Anne Boleyn, who was nothing but a Knight's daughter, was being betrothed to the King of England!_

_But now the happy couple were turning to us, and I was pushed forward to kiss Anne's cheek, and offer my congratulations._

_We stayed like that, Anne's hand in His Majesty's, but her other arm around my waist, until it was suppertime._

_Then we turned for the door, and Anne and the King led us to the dining hall as though they were already man and wife.  
Man and wife!_

_King and Queen of England!_

_Anne Boleyn, Queen of England! I thought it had a nice ring to it._


	6. The King wants an annulment

_Chapter 6_

_The King wants an annulment_

_Things moved fast for us Boleyns after that. Anne was with the King even more than before__, hunting, dancing, singing, dining privately in his rooms, and God knows what else. He was head over heels in love with her – even __**I**__ could see that._

_I was 12 by then, and Anne's dearest confidante aside from George; it was me she would come back to in the evening, raven hair ruffled by the wind, cheeks flushed with the fresh air and the exercise, but her temper also ruffled – her patience worn thin by having to be the best maiden at Court every single moment of every single day, just to keep the King._

_I would sit her down and brush out her glossy hair, singing softly as I did so._

"_Ah, Eleanor. You're an angel straight from heaven, sister. I'd have cracked by now, if you weren't here to help." Anne sighed, sipping at the cup of warm ale I had taken care to have ready for her. My hand shook, because I shivered with delighted surprise as I heard the words of praise, for, though I had to be mature, being the sister of the King's favourite, I was still as much of a child as ever when it came to my sister Anne – I lived for her approval._

"_Can't you keep the King without such effort, Anne? Surely your position is safe enough now? It's plain enough he adores you." I asked, taking up the large, silver-backed brush again__ and pulling it through her hair once more. Anne moaned softly with a mixture of pleasure and despair._

"_Eleanor, I know no other way." she admitted at last. "All my life, it's been a case of who's the better Boleyn girl between Mary and I. A constant contest that we cannot get away from. First here, then in France with Dowager Queen Mary, then back home here in England, competing for the King's affections. You're lucky, little sister. You grew up being the only Boleyn girl at Hever, no rivals for our parents' affection. But as for Mary and I, well, we were born to be rivals, and we always will be. Always. There's no getting around it. But that's why __I'm forever striving to be the best – it's all I've ever known." Anne finished. _

_Stunned into silence, I helped her change her gown for supper. _

_As she went out the door, however, I found my voice again; found it in myself to offer comfort._

"_Perhaps Uncle will let you go to Hever this summer. All these rumours that you're King Henry's mistress – we have to get rid of them somehow. It may be the only way. He'll let you go. He'll have to."_

_Anne nodded. "I hope so, Eleanor, I hope so." she replied. _

_Then she turned and left._

_****_

_I was right, but I was wrong as well. Uncle did let Anne and I go to Hever, but it wasn't really for Anne's sake. It was more a way of heightening the King's desire._

_He managed that! _

_Anne and I had scarcely been at Hever a week, when I was woken by voices in the Great Hall. I flung on a robe trimmed with swansdown – a New Year's gift from Anne – and made my way down the stairs, only to stop dead on the landing._

_Anne stood in the hall, and at her feet knelt the King of England._

"_Sister? What's going on?" I called softly. King Henry looked up at my voice._

"_Lady Eleanor. I was just explaining to your sister that Queen Katherine is, in actual fact, my sister-in-law, due to the fact that she married my brother Arthur, and they consummated their marriage. That I should never have married her in the first place. That I am seeking an annulment."_

"_Sire -" I began, but he cut me off._

"_Pope Clement will help me. I am after all "Fidei Defensor" – Defender of the Faith. If he is but shown the error I have made – Anne, you could marry me and be my Queen. Oh God, say that you will!" _

_Anne stood there, stunned. I waited for a moment, but when she raised her eyes to mine, effectively casting a plea for aid towards me, I descended to join her before His Majesty._

_Thanking my lucky stars that I had inherited the swift Boleyn mind like Anne and George, I began to speak._

"_Sire, my sister is betrothed to you, is she not? If and when Queen Katherine is successfully set aside, as I am sure she will be, Anne will gladly marry you, and rule at your side as Queen – and mother to your heirs. Then I shall be able to call you brother, as I long to do."_

_I curtsied, before continuing "Now, shall we break our fast together? Your Majesty must be starved, having ridden from Court so early this morning." _

_His Majesty laughed, and offered me his arm._

"_Very well spoken, Lady Eleanor. I see your sister is struck dumb with surprise at my unannounced visit, so you shall lead me in to eat today."_

_With that, I had no choice but to do as he said._

_****_

_Anne and I remained at Hever for the next month and a half, relaxing, riding out, singing for our Grandmother together, retiring early, but lying awake for hours, chattering and gossiping as sisters do when alone. It was heavenly, and I cherished those days, delighted to have Anne to myself for once but in May it was over, for Uncle summoned us back to Court. I think Anne was secretly relieved, for great as the strain of keeping the King's love was upon her, going back to Court promised to be somewhat livelier than lingering at Hever, even when it was as golden as it was in those summer days._

_When we returned to Court, all the talk about my sister had been silenced, whether by fierce action, or merely by time, I do not know, but it had stopped, and that was all that mattered._

_Instead, the talk was of Princess Mary and her French betrothal to Henri, Duke of Orleans. Anne was chafed by this, but I was relieved – we Boleyns could do without any more rumours or scandals surrounding us for quite some time._

_Princess Mary and the little Brandon girls, Frances and Eleanor, greeted me warmly, more warmly than I expected, what with me being a Boleyn, and sister to the woman who wanted to take Queen Katherine's throne and declare Mary Tudor, Princess of Wales, a bastard. _

_But, because of them and our friendship, I was at the dance to celebrate the Princess's betrothal as an attendant, in a new gown of Tudor Green silk, watching as Her Highness took to the floor with the Vicomte de Turenne, closely followed by her father, but not by her mother__._

_Oh no. The King took Anne as his partner - danced a galliard with her at his own daughter's betrothal._

_Swelling with pride for my sister, I couldn't help shooting a triumphant smile at Queen Katherine, whose own smile had vanished instantly. Then, as the music continued to fill the Hall, I took George's hand, as he offered it to me, and went out to join my sister on the dance floor._

"_Henry obviously loves our sister very much, Eleanor. He's dancing with her publicly, in front of ambassadors." George murmured, spinning me under one arm._

"_As he should – they're betrothed." I retorted, whirling away from him._

_We came together again, and George whispered. "Have you seen Cardinal Wolsey's face? He thought King Henry just wanted another marriage – perhaps to the French Princess Renee."_

"_Let him think that, brother. He's more likely to work on the matter than if it were declared that this annulment was for Anne's sake. You know how he hates her." I hissed, as I skipped away from George under the arch made by my sister and the King._

"_When did you become so worldly wise, little sister?" George asked in astonishment, and I shrugged carelessly, careful to keep a smile on my lips as we twirled again._

"_Being 12 years old has its advantages, George. People answer your questions more readily. Besides, Anne tells me that the French Princess is deformed – that she limps." _

"_No!" George had to stifle a laugh as we glanced towards Cardinal Wolsey again. "Really? Do you think he knows?"_

_I shook my head back as the dance required. "Not a chance. I tell you this though, brother, but keep it to yourself. Henry will never have an imperfect wife – he wants perfect sons, and lots of them too. I swear he won't."_

"_No. Well done, Eleanor, you've spied thoroughly, and your dancing's improved too." He praised as we left the floor, making way for Mary Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk and her husband. I nodded in thanks._

"_Will Anne try to use King Francis's friendship to our advantage, do you think?" I asked. _

"_She's bound to. Anne never lets an opportunity__ to further our cause slip." George replied, before handing me over to Thomas Percy, brother of Anne's first love, for the next dance – a minuet. Curtseying to my new partner, I put all thoughts of family ambition out of my mind in favour of having a good time._

_Whether Anne did become Queen or not, I would always be a Boleyn and a Howard. I could be fairly sure I would marry well, __being the youngest (and the prettiest) daughter of King Henry's proposed father-in-law._

_Besides, I was ambitious, like my sister Anna-Maria. No common country gentleman would do for me. Oh no. I wanted a member of the peerage at the very least._

_And I wanted to marry for love. And love alone._

_As I surveyed the room, during one of my brief breaks from dancing, I swore to myself a vow, a vow that I would marry for love, and if my father or my uncle tried to deny me that right, then they would have the anger of myself, Eleanor Margaret Boleyn, to deal with, and that was no laughing matter._

_I had the temper of a stable cat, and the determination, the steadfastness, the single-mindedness of a tiger on the hunt for its prey. _

_If any young man in this room ever captured my heart, I would make Heaven and Earth change places, if that's what it took to get him for my husband, and that was that. _

_But for now? _

_For now, I was content._

_Content to be the youngest Boleyn at Court, to watch my sister bewitch the King of England, to watch our family rise on the whim of the King._

_Content to dance the night away._

AN: I hope you liked this chapter, and I didn't spoil the flow of the story too much. Eleanor may seem a little out of character, but this chapter marks the turning point for Eleanor; she begins to become a woman of great determination, rather than a child emulating her sister. By the way, I own nothing but Eleanor Boleyn.


	7. The Great Matter

AN: Thanks for all your reviews! **Bella,** as I can't reply through , I'll answer yours here. Anne's real name was just Anne Boleyn, but in "The Other Boleyn Girl" it's Anna-Maria, and Mary is Marianne, so that's what I'm using.

As ever, I don't own anything – except for a rather battered old copy of "The Other Boleyn Girl!" Enjoy chapter seven!

_Chapter 7_

_The Great matter_

_Mere weeks after the French envoys had gone; Cardinal Wolsey put together a secret court of judges to try the King's marriage. Hardly anyone knew of it. Not even Uncle Howard, the spymaster of England. Not even Queen Katherine._

_However, things changed once King Henry sent for the Bishop of London. Uncle found out about that!_

_The following morning, Anne, George, Mary and I were standing before him in his rooms._

"_So. King Henry is seeking an annulment of his marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Is it for your sake, Anne, do you think?" he asked, his fierce gaze flickering over us each in turn._

"_It has to be! They're betrothed." I exclaimed. He glanced at me coolly._

"_Betrothed is not married, Eleanor. It's a long way from going down on bended knee to kissing at the altar."_

"_Eleanor's right, Uncle. You've seen the way the King behaves with Anne. There's no doubt that he's doing this so that he can wed her." George cut in._

"_And bed her." Uncle nodded, and Anne scowled. _

"_That too. But, Uncle, I'm leaving Court."_

"_Anna-Maria! You would deny the King his heart's desire?"_

"_Yes. Oh, I'll come up occasionally, but I can't be here each and every day. I can only hold him for a season like that. Maybe two. Let me go. You have to let me go." _

"_Very well. Mary? Eleanor? What shall we do with them?_

"_Mary has to stay here and get herself back into the King's bed." Anne replied with the utmost confidence._

"_Anna-Maria! How __**dare **__you? I'll not be used like a whore!" Mary spat furiously. _

"_Why not, Marianne? That's what you are. Besides, we can't leave the King to his own devices. He's only a man. I'll come back to Court to find myself supplanted by some Seymour milksop or something. As for you, Eleanor, you may do as you wish. Come with me, or stay here at Court. It doesn't really matter." _

"_I'm coming with you, Anne. There's no question about it."_

_****_

_Mary took me to say goodbye to Queen Katherine. To our horror, the King stormed past us shouting "It is God's will and mine! Deus et mon droit! Do you understand, old woman? I swear I will marry Anne Boleyn!"_

_Queen Katherine crumpled as though he had beaten her unconscious. Mary ran forward, and helped her to her feet. _

"_He is run mad, Lady Carey. Mad this summer, but he will recover. All I have to do is survive the summer. The Boleyn summer."_

_Mary looked towards me. "Go, Eleanor. I'll deal with Her Majesty."_

_I went, smiling in triumph. The King had sworn he would marry Anne. We Boleyns were well and truly on the rise now._

_****_

_We were on the rise, but you wouldn't have known it. Anne and I lived simply at Hever for the next few months, though we were kept well-informed of all goings-on at Court through letters from George, Father and the King. Wolsey departed for France in July 1527, still confident that he would be able to secure His Majesty a marriage with Princess Renee. Anne and I laughed aloud over that one!_

_In September, Anne and I returned to Court. Anne, radiantly lovely in a new gown of dark green silk velvet – a gift from the King – started the annual boat race between the Seymours and the Howards – a honour which, until now, had always been the Queen's. _

_She ought to have returned to her seat beside the King, but she forgot. For a moment, a delicious, and yet horrific moment, she forgot to play the role of Queen. Instead, she leant over the prow and yelled for the Howards. _

_My eyes snapped up to the King's face, praying Anne's impulsive actions had not angered him. They hadn't. He laughed, and leapt up to join her, slipping an arm around her waist, pulling her to him. I followed, moving so that I was standing on Anne's other side, my hand resting on her shoulder. Together, all three of us watched the boats surge towards the line. By now the Howard boat was undeniably ahead, their oars working at an incredible speed, droplets of water flicking from the broad wooden blades and sparkling as they caught the autumn sun._

_And then it was over. All of a sudden, it was over. The Howards had won, and the trumpets were blaring, informing the Seymours that they could no longer catch us, that we were the first family in England now, and most of all, that it was our girl – Anne Boleyn – standing there in Henry Tudor's arms, her face turned up to the sun, but her heart set on the throne of England._

AN: Short I know, but I just felt that it was a fitting place to leave it. Next chapter; Wolsey gets his comeuppance at the hands of Anne, and the Boleyns prepare to go on Progress with King Henry.


	8. Progresses and Cardinals

_Chapter 8_

_Progresses and Cardinals_

_Wolsey returned from France scarcely a week later. I was in the gardens with Anne and the King when the customary messenger arrived, asking where Wolsey should meet with His Majesty to inform him of how things had gone in France. Henry looked as though he would kiss Anne lightly, and have her leave him, so that he could receive Wolsey in private, perhaps somewhere else inside the palace, as he usually did, but my sister, with a wicked flash of a smile at me, instantly broke in._

"_Where else, my kind sir, would the good Cardinal come, but here, where His Majesty is?" Anne laid a gentle hand on King Henry's jewelled sleeve, and smiled sweetly._

_Utterly confused, the messenger glanced toward the king, hoping for a more proper reply, but His Majesty, once he had got over his surprise, merely shrugged and murmured "As the lady says."_

_The poor man blanched, but hurried off to convey His Majesty's orders to Wolsey, knowing his anger at the news would be great._

_A couple of minutes later, the Cardinal appeared, and knelt before the king and my sister Anna-Maria Jane Boleyn as though they were joint monarchs!_

_I, dismissed from the room, dashed past him far less gracefully than a Boleyn normally would, clapped a hand to my mouth at the sight of the look on his face, and darted away, so that I could throw my head back and laugh, laugh until tears of merriment rolled down my cheeks._

_A cardinal bowing to my sister! Kneeling before her! Kissing her hand as though she were a Princess! It was ridiculous, and yet it had happened. I had seen it with my own eyes, and knew what it meant. It meant that Anne was the King's favourite companion, that she had an influence in his life that was more than a mistress's influence, and that he would move Heaven and Earth to have her for his own true wife._

_She had just proved it beyond a shadow of a doubt, and in front of one of the most powerful men in the country no less – that insufferable prelate, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey! I hated him, hated him for what he had done to Anne over her first love, Henry Algernon Percy, 6__th__ Earl of Northumberland, hated him for his arrogance and his pompous, pretentious, self-important ways, hated him because he still didn't like my sister, for all he pretended to the contrary. Most of all though, I hated him because I had been taught to, because I had grown up as a Howard, grown up in a family who were his sworn enemies, his chief rivals for power at Henry Tudor's Court._

_If – no, __**when **__Anne became King Henry's wife and Queen, she could send Wolsey to the block without a second thought. I longed for that day._

_****_

_The first half of 1528 passed in a blur. In May, while we were at Windsor, Anne danced in a masque to mark May Day, and was crowned Queen of the May by the King himself, who set a wreath of lilies and hawthorn blossoms on top of her tumbled dark locks, and then led her to the stands so that she could watch the May Day joust from the Royal Box. He knelt before her, and asked "May I have your favour, Lady Anne?" _

_Anne pulled a ribbon from her dress, and held it up so that the crowds could see it. It was scarlet, edged with gold. _

"_Certainly you may, my Lord. May it cause Lady Fortune to smile upon you."_

_Careful to keep a seemingly careless smile upon her lips, Anne dropped the ribbon into His Majesty's hand, as he held it out to her. He kissed the ribbon briefly, pressed his lips fiercely to the back of her outstretched hand, and clattered down the steps, eager to be strapped into his armour, and mount his horse._

_Lady Fortune smiled upon him, of course, as she always did. The King had to be the victor in whatever he did – anyone knew that. Anne smiled too, as our brother George escorted her down to the stables, so that she could be the first to greet and congratulate the King on his prowess in the tiltyard._

_The King caught her in his arms and clasped her tight, sweeping her off her feet in his joy. Then he looked around at the rest of us. _

"_Come my friends. Let us change and then we shall dance with the Queen of the May and her attractive handmaidens, shall we not?"_

"_Aye!" The answer came back in a roar, and the King nodded, pleased with our enthusiasm. I groaned. It appeared it was going to be another late night._

_****_

_I turned 13 in the month of June, and I had scarcely done so before the King asked Anne to ride out with him on Progress – ride out with him at the head of the brilliant, almost garish spectacle that the Court formed for the summer months. She gladly accepted, and so we Boleyns were thrown into a fever of packing and preparation – ordering new gowns, new saddles, new bridles, deciding what could be put into storage and what could not. Anne ordered countless gowns in the newest fashions from Calais, causing George to ask "Anna-Maria, can it not wait until we return? Surely what you have will do for the summer."_

_Anne rolled her eyes. "My dear brother, fashions change quickly. Nothing is quite the same from year to year. I cannot allow the people of England to see me at the King's side unless I am wearing the very latest fashions. It is impossible. I would become an instantaneous laughing stock." _

"_But -" George protested. Anne sighed irritably._

"_Oh, you men know nothing of these matters! The clothes themselves mean nothing. It is a matter of pride, of honour, of being able to hold one's head high, and know that you will not be disgraced by what you are wearing. Is it not, Eleanor?"_

"_It is. Leave this to us George. We'll soon make Anne a wardrobe worthy of a King's consort." I promised my brother, with a quick smile in his direction, as I fingered the fine fabrics spread out on Anne's bed, trying to decide if a midnight blue silk ball gown should be trimmed with cloth of gold or with silver satin._

_It was promising to be a heavenly summer._

_****_

_And then the news came. William Compton, one of the King's closest friends, died at his home in the country. He died of the sweat._

_The sweat. The second most feared illness in England – second only to the plague. It was raging in the countryside, and it was heading for London._

_The King withdrew into his private chambers, leaving the rest of us in fear of our lives. Uncle called a Howard council. His face was grim as he looked around at us, and when he spoke, his voice, usually so quiet and commanding, held a slight tremor, a minor, but unmistakable measure of fear. He didn't say much, for he was a man of few words, but what he did say was enough to send shivers of apprehension crawling down our spines._

"_The sweat has taken hold of England. What are we going to do?"_

AN: So, here's the latest chapter. The Sweat is raging, and Henry, of course, is terrified. Thank you for all the reviews, but I have a question. Should I make Eleanor suffer from an attack of the sweat, or not? I can't decide!

Next chapter – the sweat gets worse!


	9. The Sweat

_You horrible people all want Eleanor to suffer from the Sweat! Ah well, majority rules, I guess, so here's chapter nine.__ Enjoy, and don't forget to review!_

_Chapter 9_

_The Sweat_

_The palace was in uproar. The King was ordering those of us who were not yet sick to leave with him at once for Tittenhanger in Hertfordshire, while Queen Katherine was to go to Ludlow to stay with the Princess Mary until the sickness abated._

_Anne and I were among the chosen few who went with the King, and we rode with the Queen, whose journey went along with ours, for hours, until we reached Bradgate,__ manor of the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, where the inconceivable happened. One of Anne's maids caught the sweat!_

_It was the middle of June, barely three days __since the King had left Greenwich with his decimated court, and I had been out for a breath of fresh air in the gardens with my close friend The Lady Frances Brandon, and her brother, Sir Henry Brandon, who was a year my junior. Henry didn't seem his usual jovial self; instead he stammered and flushed beetroot red whenever I spoke to him. He seemed unusually self-conscious, and I would have asked what was wrong, if it hadn't been for Frances, who rolled her eyes at her brother, and commanded that we race three times around the rose garden and down to the fountains. Laughing, and lifting my skirts high with one hand, I pelted after her, for once forgetting that I was a grand young lady of thirteen summers, and using my two year seniority to my advantage as I gained on her slowly but steadily. I would have won, but Henry, to everyone's surprise, put on a final burst of speed, and shot past me to the fountains, throwing his hand out to touch the marble slabs a mere instant before I did._

"_Well done, Henry! You win!" I gasped, bending over in order to regain my breath (or at least as much as I could of it, given that I was wearing a corset). Frances joined us a moment later, having been bypassed in our dash for the fountains. Through my own heavy breathing, I heard her whispering to her brother, and when I straightened again, Henry was kneeling before me, holding a yellow rose, which he had pulled off the nearby climbing rose._

"_For you, fair Lady Eleanor. For you did hand me victory with the beauty and grace of this rose, for all that you might say it was a fair battle." _

"_Which it was!" I exclaimed, reaching for the rose. The colour rose up Henry's pale cheeks as our skin touched, and I smiled down at him as I had seen Anne do with the King. _

"_You may rise, Sir Henry. I thank you for this precious gift." _

_Henry walked me back to the door of the manor, and then I turned to him. "I'd better go. Anne will be wondering what's happened to me."_

"_Then go, Eleanor. I will see you at supper." Henry took my hand and squeezed it briefly, before I nodded and took my leave. Carrying the rose, I went up the stairs. I was halfway along the passage before I heard them. Panicked voices coming from the room I shared with Anne._

_I quickened my pace. Something was wrong._

_I burst into the chamber to find Anne clutching her maid, Lucy, who had been at Court with us since last May, but had served us at Hever long before that. The poor girl was in a terrible state, and it was all Anne could do to keep her relatively calm._

"_No, Lucy, no. You're not going to die. You're going to be fine. Listen to me. You're going to be fine." Anne reassured her, but it was no use. Lucy was hysterical. Anne raised her head, and met my questioning gaze._

"_She thinks she's got the Sweat. Fetch a physician. Quickly, sister!"_

_It was that which got me moving. Without that last order, I might have stood there forever, staring in shock, unable to speak, but Anne __**never **__called me plain "sister". Not unless she was deadly serious._

_Tossing the rose aside, I ran._

_****_

_It was too late. Lucy died that same day. White-faced and trembling, Anne wrote to the King, telling him what had happened, and asking his advice on what to do. Within the hour, we had a response._

_We were to leave for Hever at once, and to stay there until it was clear whether or not we had the sweat. He could offer us his prayers, but that was all. We packed our bags at once, leaving before supper was called._

_Father accompanied us to Hever. We were seated in the carriage, Father and I chatting aimlessly, Anne tense and silent. Suddenly, I glanced at her. She did look __**very**__ white._

"_Do you feel all right, Anne? You look like you've seen a ghost." I teased, but Anne scarcely seemed to hear me._

"_I can't breathe. Stop the carriage. I can't breathe!" she gasped. Father and I exchanged worried glances._

"_Stop the carriage!" Anne pleaded. Father banged urgently on the roof and the horses were eased to a halt. Anne scrambled to her feet, threw open the door, and lurched forward. _

"_Anne!" I screamed. _

_She didn't respond. Instead, she staggered forward, towards the distant gates of Hever._

_All I could do was watch the stumbling figure, and pray she had the strength to make it, and to join us in the yard._

_Amazingly, she made it to the gates before she collapsed. As an abrupt rush of fear passed through me, I heard myself cry out "Anne!" and ran to her, skirts ruffling in the wind I myself created. I put my hand to her forehead. She was burning up. I glanced at her face. Her skin, normally fashionably creamy, was now so white it was almost translucent, and she was drenched in sweat._

_John Barlow, one of Father's serving men, and nephew to our local chaplain, lifted her up and bore her to her chamber, strong arms tightly encircling her limp frame. I followed worriedly. _

_As we laid Anne on her bed, she cried out for our mother, who came to her side at once, and kissed her lightly on her hot forehead._

"_I'm here, sweetheart. I won't leave you. I promise."_

_Anne closed her eyes in contentment. She was not to open them again for five days._

_****_

_I remember little of those days. Those frantic, panicked, feverish days. Anne cried out ceaselessly from beneath the blankets we piled upon her – sometimes in horror, sometimes in delight, but always writhing as though she fought a horde of devils and demons in her sleep._

_Except for the last night. That night, she was quiet__. I woke, wondering where the noise had gone. Alarmed, I leapt to my feet and rushed to my sister's side._

_To my horror, as I glanced down at her, I realised that the fevers, instead of being sweated out as we had hoped, had turned inward, and were slowly poisoning her. I fled from the chamber without a second thought._

"_George! Come quickly! I don't think Anne's going to last the night!" I screamed, hammering on the door of my brother's bedchamber. My cries woke the serving men, and John said "I'll fetch my uncle." _

_I nodded gratefully. The least we could give Anne was the peace of the last rites – after all she'd done for this family, she deserved that much._

_Chaplain Barlow came at once, took in Anne's state at a glance, and promptly began absolving her of her sins. Then he came out from the sickroom, and answered our questioning glances with one simple statement. "Mistress Anna-Maria really is in the hands of God now. No mortal can help her more."_

_I dashed past him. If Anne was going to die, I wanted to be beside her. Kneeling beside the bed, I took Anne's hand and whispered fiercely to her "Don't you dare die, Anne. Don't you dare. We had so much we were going to do together, remember? You were going to take me to France, and show me where you lived as a child. You were going to become Queen of England, and I was to be your Chief Lady of the Bedchamber, and aunt to the Prince of Wales, the next King of England. We were going to dance in masques together, and amaze everyone with our skill. I was going to fall in love, like you did with Henry Percy, and you were going to make sure I could marry the boy I love. Don't die, Anne, please! We need you – all of us. Father needs his tool for the King's favour and affections, Mary needs her rival, George needs his beloved, his confidante, for there's no way Jane Parker could ever fill that role as well as you do, and I? I need my sister. I need someone who loves me and will help me through any trouble."_

_Suddenly, I felt Anne grip my hand, as though she was responding. Her eyes opened, she shook her head weakly, and struggled to sit up._

"_Eleanor? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed?" she asked. Her voice was little more than a husky croak, but to me, it was the most beautiful sound in the world._

"_Anne! Oh Anne!" I covered her with kisses, before tearing from the room, shouting at the top of my voice._

"_Mother! Father! George! Mary! Come quickly! You'll never believe what you're seeing!"_

_They dashed up the stairs and into Anne's room. George and Mother ran straight to Anne, and fell on their knees beside her, speechless with delight. Mary crossed herself, murmured "Thank the Lord" and then followed suit, hugging Anne with the exuberance of a child. Father dropped to his knees. _

"_Do you know what you've done, child?" he exclaimed. "You've risen from the dead. You've risen from the dead, and now you can go back to the King, and everything can return to how it was."_

"_That's cruel." I thought, as I staggered, all of a sudden realising how exhausted I was. "Anne's barely able to sit up, and yet he's already talking about how soon we can go back to Court. Has he no heart? If I were feeling stronger, I'd give him a piece of my mind." _

_With that, I fainted. I too, had succumbed to the dangers of the sweat._

_****_

_The next three days passed in a feverish haze. All I remember is a lot of swirling shapes and colours flashing incessantly before my eyes, until I cried out in dizziness, and forced myself over on to my other side. This brought a spell of welcome relief, but all too soon, the colours would be back again. _

_Then, just before I woke to find myself alive again, I had a vision. A vision of a Queen. The Queen turned to me, and to my astonishment, the face beneath the golden crown was that of my sister, Anne Boleyn. She held out her hand to me, and called "I have need of you, little sister. Come back to me and help me."_

"_What must I do, Anne? I don't know how!" I cried out in a panic._

"_You must want it. Open your eyes, sister. Open your eyes and come back to me."_

_The Queen faded away, and I forced myself to do her bidding. As I opened my eyes, I saw the sweet face of my eldest sister, Mary, leaning over me._

"_Mary. I've come back to you, To Anne." I croaked hoarsely, for my throat felt as dry as sandpaper. Mary kissed me fiercely, then bowed her head and wept for joy, too overcome to say a word._

_I was better, Anne was better. The hopes of the Boleyns and the Howards could rest on our shoulders once more._

_****_

_As Anne and I recuperated, we became aware of how grave this epidemic of the Sweat had been. Mary's husband, William Carey, had passed away, leaving our sister with an eight year old daughter, Katherine, and a two year old son, Henry, to provide for. The Suffolks, too, had felt it, for their eldest son and heir, Henry Brandon, had been ill, but survived. When I heard this news, I felt strangely relieved. I hadn't realised how much young Henry Brandon meant to me, until I had come close to losing him. _

_All this news came from the King, who wrote to Anne almost daily, declaring himself lost without her, and begging her to return to him as soon as she possibly could._

_She did. As soon as I was well enough to walk a reasonable distance without assistance, Anne wrote to the King, inviting him to come and dine with us at Hever. He accepted, as we knew he would, and so, on July 15 1528, we went down to the gardens arm in arm, and found him waiting for us. _

_At the sight of Anne, he gave a great bellow of joy, and began to run towards us. Anne pulled her arm from mine, and raced towards him, meeting him halfway. King Henry caught her in his arms, and held her close, whispering sweet nothings and promises of everlasting love into her ear, as he stroked her hair and twirled her in his arms._

_I slipped away. This moment was between the King and my sister, and nothing and nobody had the right to ruin it._

_We would greet His Majesty as a family soon enough, but right now, my sister deserved a few seconds alone with the man who loved her._

_She deserved a few secret moments with the King._

AN: I know Henry Brandon historically passed away at this point, but not here – I need him alive for future chapters! Hope you liked it!


	10. Proposals and Arguments

_Chapter 10 _

_Proposals and Arguments_

_It was the end of July before Anne and I returned to Court. King Henry rode down to Hever and collected us himself, something Anne was quick to notice and to point out to Mary, for she still felt the need to prove herself as the best of the Boleyn girls. I rolled my eyes about it when nobody was looking, but knew that I would never persuade either Mary or Anne to give up their pointless bitter rivalry, so did not even try. Mary remained at Hever with her two children for the remainder of the summer, but Queen Katherine rejoined the Court at roughly the same time as we did__, happy and glowing from a month spent almost entirely in her daughter's company. _

_Anne was sick to her stomach when she realised that she would have to win the King back from Katherine yet again; Katherine who had been his wife for so many years; Katherine who had been his first love (though she had not been his last__, not by a long shot); Katherine who had that confident poise that Anne would never be able to learn, the poise of a woman who has been a Princess of Spain and then a Queen of England, the poise of a woman who knows she has the love of the people._

_But she did it. Over weeks and weeks of careful seduction, she drew him back to her, reigning first in his heart once more, and by the time Mary joined the rest of us Boleyns and Howards in November, he was hers, and hers alone._

_But she was not just making moves to secure herself the King as her husband. Oh no. She was, in card play terms, gathering herself a stronger hand than ever. She wanted a full suit, and that meant having Mary's son as her own. She would have to adopt him, take him as her ward now that his father was dead._

_We were walking in the gardens together, Mary, George, Anne and I, when Anne mentioned this plan for the first time. Mary stared at her._

"_You don't even __**like**__ him, Anne! I doubt you've seen him since he was a newborn. __**George**__ knows him better than you do!"_

_Anne glanced at me, as though entreating me to lend her patience. However, even I was astounded by Anne's newfound cruelty. I gaped at her, trying not to cry, trying to find the loving sister I knew she could be. Anne sighed and turned away from both of us. At last she found her voice again._

"_I don't want him because I like him, Mary. I want him because he's a boy. The King's boy. If he is mine -"_

"_Then you destroy me, destroy my one great claim to King Henry's attention! My God, Anne, it's everything for you, isn't it? You have to take everything I've ever had!" Mary's voice caught in her throat as she choked back a sob. I couldn't keep quiet any longer._

"_And Katherine, Anne? Little Katherine Carey? Your __**niece?**__ What's to happen to her? Have you thought of that at all?" I asked, glaring at my sister._

"_Oh, Mary can keep Katherine if she wants. Katherine's only a girl." Anne smiled, sweet as honey. I opened my mouth, ready to retort, but Mary beat me to it._

"_You'll be the death of us all, Anne. You'll be the death of us all!"_

"_No, I'll be Queen, and your Henry will be Prince of Wales, but you all have to help me."_

"_Why should we, Anne? You're like a cuckoo, slowly eating all the other babes in the nest, one by one. You __**know**__ what Mary's son means to her. How could you take him from her?!"_

"_Because, Eleanor, Mary has to help this family upwards. We all have to help each other. You should know that that's how it is by now. You should know that Mary's a fool to rail against fate."_

"_It's not fate, Anne, it's spite! Sheer spite!" I screamed at her. Mary raised her head a little as I defended her. As Anne advanced on me, hand held high as though she was going to slap me, she broke in. _

"_I'll not forget this, Anna-Maria! When I visit you on your deathbed, I'll remind you of the true reason you took Henry – because you'll never have a boy to match him, or any boy at all!" _

_Mary turned and fled back to the palace._

"_I'll have a boy, Marianne! A boy that's the very image of the King, and then I'll have you sent to a nunnery for saying that I wouldn't!" Anne screamed after her retreating back. Losing my temper, I slapped her hard across the cheek._

"_Eleanor! How dare you!" she exclaimed._

"_You deserve it! You've thrown everything into this, Anne, including your soul, and now you are devoid of any emotion! Mary's right, you won't have a son, because even if you do, I'll make sure he never lives to see a majority!" _

_With that parting shot, I took to my heels and shot after my eldest sister._

_****_

_Anne was subdued for the following few weeks, as I served in her household__ alongside her other ladies, but did not offer friendship or comfort as I usually did. I was trying to prove my point. I would never have killed her son, not really, not when the birth of one would be so advantageous to us Boleyns, but I wanted her to understand that she was becoming a snake, a woman who would have no friends, not even among her family, if she carried on the way she was going._

_At last, however, I gave in to her entreaties, and began braiding her hair the way I used to do. She tipped her head back and sighed with pleasure._

"_I have missed this, Eleanor. I wish you hadn't stopped doing it." she murmured, as my hands moved swiftly through her dark hair, braiding it neatly._

"_Well. Have you given up your plan to adopt little Henry?" I asked, praying, for Mary's sake, that she had. I was soon disappointed._

"_No, Eleanor. I couldn't."_

_My heart sank. "Of course you could! You're the King's favourite, he'll let you do what you like." I snapped. Anne sighed, and reached out for me._

"_I wish it was that easy, sweetheart. But you see, King Henry had agreed and the contract had already been signed and sealed before I told the rest of you, because I knew Mary would try and stop me. I couldn't back out, not even when I realised not even you would back me up."_

"_Oh." It was all I could say. At least she'd tried to backtrack and not see her plan through, even if it had been too late. At least she still cared for our sister a little. I carried on braiding her hair wordlessly, wishing I could think of something to say. The weeks of my not talking to Anne had damaged our relationship, and now that I wanted it back the way it used to be, it was proving extremely difficult to regain. _

"_The thing is, Eleanor, I think it's time you were married." Anne commented, laughing up at me as she glanced at herself in the mirror and set her bejewelled French hood back on her head. _

_My head snapped up at that. I knew I was thirteen, easily old enough to marry, but in a way, I had hoped to be able to wait a little longer before I had to find a husband, especially with Henry Brandon having paid such attention to me since the beginning of the summer. Anne had taught me how to flirt as elegantly as she did, but with half the Court still away, I hadn't had time to try my skills out on many of the young men. I __**had**__ to try and talk her out of this! _

"_Anne, I'm not sure I'm ready, sister. Can't it wait another year or two?" I pleaded, attempting to reason with her, as I took her hood off again, and coiled__ her brunette locks around her head, securing the braid in place with a couple of jewelled pins._

"_What's this, Eleanor? Surely you knew it was coming? How can you not be ready?" she asked in surprise._

"_Of course I knew, but Anne – please! I'm only thirteen." I begged._

"_Mary married at twelve, and bedded the King at fourteen." Anne reminded me, setting her hood further back on her head than before, so that it was at an angle that would probably have been daring even if we'd been at the French Court and not the English one._

"_I know, I know, but she's the eldest! Surely I don't have to marry as young as she did – not with your star on the rise so much?"_

"_You don't understand, do you, little sister? It's __**because**__ I'm on the rise that you have to marry. You will marry a nobleman, and cement our rise to prominence." Anne suddenly looked up at me from where she was selecting a necklace to wear to supper. "Has some young boy taken your fancy? Is that it? Do you want to marry him, and not whoever Father or Uncle may come up with? If you do, I can ask the King to allow it, and to bless your union. It __**is**__ within my power, you know."_

"_No! It's just – oh, I can't explain it! I'm not ready, Anne. Please. Tell Father and Uncle that. Tell Mother. They might listen to you."_

"_I'll see what I can do, darling. Now, I've got to go. I'll see you later." _

_Anne kissed me, and was gone._

_****_

_I fled to the gardens, wrapped up well against the cold. To my surprise and delight, Henry Brandon was there watching his father practise his archery. We had become friendlier in recent weeks; perhaps he would at least listen to my problems. Before I knew what I was doing, I sidled up to him and placed a hand on his sleeve._

"_Lord Brandon. A word, if you please."_

_He turned, flushing as he realised who it was._

"_Lady Eleanor. It would be an honour."_

"_No, the honour would be mine, my Lord, for you are the future Duke of Suffolk, and I am naught but a Boleyn." I dipped a slight curtsey, and led him to a secluded spot behind a couple of oak trees._

"_My lord, I -"_

"_Henry. Please. Call me Henry." He begged, and I sighed. As ever, he seemed so eager for familiarity – more eager than I wished him to be._

"_Henry then. Henry, I do not know why I am doing this, but I have to tell someone. I am to be betrothed as soon as I have been found a husband."_

_I was not prepared for his reaction. He went white, and staggered slightly. "It cannot be!" he gasped._

"_Why can it not be, my lord? I am a maiden of thirteen summers, and my sister married when she was just twelve. I have been expecting it." I lied._

"_It cannot be, Lady Eleanor, for I was on the verge of asking my father to ask yours for your hand." he whispered, looking up at me shyly. I could not suppress a gasp as I realised what he was saying – he loved me!_

_And, as I peered across at him in the dusky gloom created by the trees we stood under, and searched my heart for my true feelings, I realised that I loved him too. That the friendship between us had not been one of mere courtesy, although we both thought it had, but had, over the time we had spent together, blossomed into love. _

_Suddenly, a whole lot more made sense. Like why I had felt breathless when he had helped me off my horse the other day. Why I kept finding little trinkets meant for me in the oddest of places, such as in my stirrup leathers, or outside the door of my bedchamber. And why, when he had partnered me in the masque that Anne had organised the other night, my heart had skipped several beats before the music had even begun. All that time I had thought I was being foolish, that it had all meant nothing! What a fool I was!_

_And yet, I wanted him to prove it, prove his love for me. So, when he reached out a hand to me, I pulled back, shaking my head._

"_Nay, Henry. Prove it. Prove that you love me."_

"_Why, Eleanor? Why? Am I wrong to hope that you felt the same way?" He turned hurt-filled eyes upon me, and I longed to bend my head and kiss him, kiss the smile back into his ordinarily merry face._

"_Perhaps. Perhaps not. But Henry, you're a boy. You'll grow up into a man. Men are fickle, I've seen it myself. I don't want to have my heart broken. Now, we should go before we're missed." I turned, and would have run from him, run away through the snow that lay thick on the ground, run from him as Anne would have done, had he not grabbed my shoulder, and forced me to halt. I turned halfway towards him, keeping my eyes tantalisingly averted from his, as he spoke._

"_Eleanor. You're the most beautiful maiden at Court. I would never cause you a moment's uneasiness. I could have promised you that in an instant, had you asked. I'll swear it to you now before the Virgin Mary. I'll never be like my father. I'll love you until I die." _

"_Will you?" I whispered, knowing my voice held nothing but desire. I could never be like Anne. I didn't have the mental strength to hold out against a man who wanted me, if I wanted him in return. Henry nodded._

"_I will. I promise." He put a hand on my waist, and drew me to him. I went, yearning for his touch. As I felt his body come into contact with mine, I undid the neckline of my gown, and tipped my head back, so that our lips met, warm, soft, and sweet with our own desire._

"_Is that proof enough for you, Eleanor?" Henry whispered, as we parted reluctantly. _

"_More than enough, my lord. My Henry. My love. I am yours, for ever and for ever." I replied. He smiled, and pulled me back towards him, kissing me again and again. I revelled in it, and I knew that, if he had wanted to have me, there and then, beneath those trees, I would not have argued. I would have yielded in an instant._

_****_

_My joy, Henry's joy, the joy of our courtship, was interrupted when, three or four days later, I was summoned__ to my uncle's chambers._

_Anne, George, Mary and our parents sat together with our uncle, and I stood before them like a disobedient child before its elders. I curtsied deeply._

"_Uncle, good morning. Mother. Father."_

"_Eleanor, my dear daughter." Mother got up, came around the table, and put an arm around my shoulders. "My dear Eleanor, you are thirteen now, are you not?"_

"_I am, Mother." I replied cautiously, unused to such kindness from my mother, and not quite sure how to respond. _

"_Of an age to marry, then." My uncle spoke, his voice stony and calculating. I glanced up at him, praying we were not about to discuss what I thought we were about to discuss._

"_Yes sir." I glanced at my mother, then back at my uncle. His gaze was flickering over me as though I were a mere asset, an object to be bought and resold for the highest possible profit, instead of a girl with passion in her blood._

"_Eleanor. Henry Somerset has asked that you become his second wife. That would make you Countess of Worcester. Or, if you prefer, the newly created Earl of Huntingdon is also searching for a possible bride for his son Francis. You would then become the future Countess of Huntingdon. It is your choice, niece." _

_I curtsied, trying to look grateful for his concern for my future, and to appear delighted that I actually had a choice in the matter, albeit a limited one, when all I wanted was to marry the boy I loved, Henry Brandon. However, I knew that if I told him that, I would be scolded for reaching too high, and possibly birched into doing as I was told. With that in mind, I began to consider the choices. Henry Somerset was at least 15 years my senior, and rather plump. He seemed the kind of man who might dote on a younger wife, but only if she gave him a son. I did not want that kind of pressure when I began to have children, so he was out. _

_Francis, on the other hand, was a nice enough boy, only a year older than me. He did indeed have a large inheritance, and happened to be handsome enough to be passable if you thought about it, but even he paled in comparison beside my love, Henry Brandon. I didn't really want to marry him either._

_Sud__denly, something occurred to me. Anne had been talking about marrying me off to a noble only a few days before. Had she said something to our uncle about her wishes? My head went up, and I looked at her properly for the first time since I had entered the room. She was sitting on our brother's right, perfectly collected, but whilst my eyes were resting upon her, she let a small triumphant smile flit across her face. In that instant I knew. She had asked our uncle to arrange a betrothal for me, even though I had begged her not to!_

_Anger flooded through me. I would not play her game. I would not become her pawn as Mary had been forced to, time and time again. _

"_Uncle, I thank you for your concern, but I will not marry either of these men." My voice was steady as I looked intently into his eyes, doing my best to outstare his hard, cold, emotionless look._

_He looked back at me, and then half-turned his head towards Anne, only confirming my recently gleaned knowledge. She leapt to her feet, and took a step towards me._

"_Eleanor. I thought we had been through this, sister. You have to do your bit to help this family upwards!"_

_Stung that she had not even lifted a finger to help me, even though I had implored her to do so, I spun on my heel and let fly at her._

"_Help you to the throne, you mean!"_

"_That too. But be reasonable, sister. You're thirteen. Did you really think you'd be able to go much longer without being married off, especially with my star so on the rise?"_

"_I never thought I'd be forced into a marriage with a boy you chose!" I screamed._

"_I didn't -" she began. I laughed scornfully._

"_Oh don't deny it, Anne. You wanted me to marry, and now, a mere four days later, I find myself being confronted with two possible suitors! You __**must**__ have had a hand in it! Well, hear this, Anna-Maria. If you force me to marry either of these two men, I will behave so scandalously that I will go down in deep disgrace, and I will drag the rest of the Boleyns down with me. I won't be your pawn, understand? I won't let you control my life the way you are controlling Mary's!"_

"_Eleanor -" Mary tried to calm me. I whirled to face her._

"_Marianne! How can you be defending Anne after what she's done to you? To your __**son**__? If you had any sense, you'd join me and fight to have him back!"_

"_I only wanted to say that, well, what's Uncle supposed to say to the Somersets? And the Hastings? That his thirteen year old niece refused to marry them because she wanted to anger her sister?"_

"_If that's what it takes to get you - and them - off my back, then yes. Now leave me alone!"_

_With that, I turned and ran from the chambers, pretending not to hear my uncle when he ordered me to return, even though he shouted so loud that the whole castle could probably hear him._

_I needed to get away, away from the spite and ambition that was slowly corrupting the whole of my family. I needed a cleansing presence, a bliss that I could never have attained in their company._

_I needed my sweetheart._

_I needed Lord Henry Arthur Brandon, Earl of Lincoln and heir to the Suffolk dukedom. _

AN: I was asked to try and find some differences between Eleanor and Anne, and since I want to make Eleanor a very determined girl anyway, the result was this chapter. I hope you like it, and that I haven't rushed the romance between her and Henry Brandon too much. Don't worry though; they're not getting married for a few chapters yet!  
I don't own the possible suitors mentioned in this chapter either – they're real Tudor people, but I did mess Henry Somerset's marital history around a little to make it fit my story. Read and review!


	11. Blackfriars

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Tudors, The Other Boleyn Girl or history. Clear?**

AN: Sorry to all those of you who wanted Henry to propose to Eleanor in this chapter – it's not happening. This one is taken up by Blackfriars, and the proposal will probably happen next chapter. However, they do open the chapter together. Enjoy!

Oh, and Bella - I'd love it if you'd make a trailer for this! Thanks for the offer!

_Chapter 11_

_Blackfriars_

"_What am I going to do, Henry? I can't delay these proposed marriages forever." I grumbled, leaning back against the nearest oak tree. __Henry Brandon, who had patiently listened to the rather lengthy account of all that had happened in my uncle's chambers, and the delaying tactics I had been using ever since, bent his handsome dark head over me, and stopped my mouth with a tender kiss._

"_Just tell Anne you're in love with me and that we want to be betrothed. She has the King's ear, remember, and you're her favourite sister. She could do anything for you." he whispered, laughter colouring his voice as my golden tresses, which I had left unpinned, tickled his face, neck and shoulders._

"_Hmm. You'd be right, if it wasn't for this dratted court case. It takes up all her time – and King Henry's." I slid down the tree, and moaned softly, half in complaint and half in delight, as Henry pushed back my hair to kiss me on my neck, throat and shoulders, more and more passionately._

"_Then wait a while. Wait until we know whether the royal marriage between King Henry and Catherine of Aragon is valid or invalid. After that, nothing can stop you. No-one can stop us. We'll marry, Eleanor, with or without permission, but I know you would not be happy without Anne's approval at least." _

"_She is my sister. One way or another, she is my own flesh and blood, and I do have to live with her."_

"_I know, I know. Which is why you're going to tell her, and ask for her blessing, and the King's blessing, as soon as the court case is over. Now stop worrying, my darling." Henry left a blazing trail of feather light kisses upon my forehead, cheeks, nose, and lips. I rolled along the ground towards him, laughing my seductive laugh, and inwardly begging him to go further, to take me then and there. _

_As if he sensed my desire, Henry loosened my stays, and pushed the neckline of my gown lower and lower, even though we were in the orchards together, and could be come upon at any moment._

_As we were then. My eldest sister, Mary hurried round the corner, calling my name._

"_Eleanor? Eleanor? Where are you, sister?"_

"_Curses! Henry, I'll have to go." I swore under my breath, and scrambled up, pulling my dress up again, hating the laces for being at the back where I couldn't reach them._

"_Here. Let me." Henry came to my rescue, lacing me up as gently as though he were one of my sisters. I thanked him with a kiss, and then ran to join Mary, praying she would not notice the flush of disappointed desire that coloured my usually creamy skin._

"_I'm here. What is it?"_

"_Anne's nervous again. The case starts tomorrow. She has to appear, and I can't calm her."_

"_Oh, not **again!** All right, I'll see what I can do." With an exasperated sigh, I set off for the palace._

_The month was May, anno domini 1529, and the case to try the validity of King Henry's marriage to Catalina de Aragon was due to open the following morning, and my sister, Anna-Maria Jane Boleyn, was a bundle of nerves because of it._

_I went straight into her private chamber, not even bothering to knock. She raised a head which was stained with angry tears and drained of colour towards me. I ran to her side. "Anne, please. You have to stay calm. You can't lose your nerve, not now."_

"_How can I stay calm, sister, when I know that, if this court doesn't rule in our favour, Henry and I might have to wait years to marry? I'm not getting any younger – I've just had my twenty-first birthday. If I don't marry him soon, I may not be able to deliver on my promise – my promise of the son and heir he so desperately needs."_

"_Your Twenty-__**first **__birthday. You're still young, Anne. You've years and years ahead of you yet. You'll give Henry a son, I swear." I soothed, trying to get her in the right mood to pay heed to what I would say next. "Just be patient, all right? Patience is the key here. You need to present a calm façade. I heard the French Ambassador saying you can scarcely disguise your nerves, and we can't have that – especially as the Emperor isn't even represented in England at the moment."_

"_You are supporting me, aren't you, Eleanor? You and George and Mary? Mother, Father and Uncle? All of you?" Anne's voice held a tremor I had never heard before. This was bad news._

"_Of course we are! But you have to lead the charge, Anne. You're going to be the next Queen, after all. Lead us Boleyns as, one day, you will lead the Court of England."_

_Anne closed her eyes as I pacified her, and eased her highly-strung nerves, stroking her glossy black hair, as I sang the tune of "Wie Schoen leuchtet der Morgenstern.", a song from the German state of Cleves._

"_Wie schoen, wie schoen leuchtet der Morgenstern..." I sang the first lines softly, only to look down upon Anne's head, and find her, worn out with the strain, to be fast asleep._

_****_

_The following morning, Mary, Anne and I, clad in our best gowns, watched and waited as Queen Katherine came to the hall in Blackfriars Monastery, amid the delighted shouts of the populace._

"_The crowds are with her, Anne." Mary whispered._

"_The crowds have no vote, Marianne." Anne replied tersely. I was about to respond when Anne suddenly hissed "She's coming towards us." and lost her bravado. I would have laughed at her sudden panic attack, but then people might have thought I was laughing at the Queen, and that would never do. Instead I curtsied silently alongside my sisters. Queen Katherine stopped and looked at each of us as we rose up from the floor._

"_Well, well, well. If it isn't the Boleyn whores."_

"_Your Majesty -" I found myself protesting._

"_Not you, little Eleanor. You have always been a good girl, though a little too loyal to your family. Nor you, Mary, for you would have been loyal, had your family not pushed you into my husband's bed. I do not blame you. But as for you, Mademoiselle Anna-Maria, what have I done to make you hate me so that you would try to set me, me, the rightful Queen, aside?"_

_I could not help but feel sorry for Katherine, as she made this plea in her strongly accented English, but Anne had no such qualms. Her voice was clear, cold and hard._

"_You failed to give England an heir."_

"_And that upsets you so?"_

"_What upsets the King upsets me, madam. Besides, I am not setting a Queen aside, but rather a Spanish Princess, a Queen __**Consort**__. I seek to become second Queen Consort to the greatest King England has ever seen – His Majesty Henry Tudor. I will wed him and bed him, and I will deliver where you have failed – I will give him a son so great, that he will rule over England for two score years and ten, an heir so great that his descendants, the House of Tudor, will rule over England forever."_

"_I do not think you will, Anne Boleyn, for why should God grant you with a woman's greatest consolation, when he did not grant me, his most loyal servant, with one? And remember, I am beloved where you are not. Beloved Aunt to the Emperor. Beloved sister to Doña Juana of Castile, the last true Queen of Spain. Beloved of the people of the people of England. Beloved mother to the true heiress, Princess Mary. Most of all, I am the beloved wife and Queen to a King that you, Mistress Anne, have bewitched. You cannot take my place. Not with success.__"_

_With that, Queen Katherine swept past us, her red velvet skirts swishing, her gold brocade petticoats clearly visible as they flared in the sun. She went to her seat on the dais, opposite the King's. As soon as she was out of earshot, Anne growled "I __**will **__have a son, curse her! I __**will **__have a son and he __**will **__be Henry's heir!"_

_Mary whispered "Leave it, Anne. She's still Queen, you know. She could organise you a meeting with an executioner if it pleased her. Just let it be for now and come and sit down." _

_Mary glanced over Anne's shoulder to me, and I nodded almost imperceptibly. We two blonde Boleyns, in our gowns of silver taffeta, flanked our dark sister, in her dress of emerald silk velvet and escorted her to the seats that King Henry had had set up for us behind a screen._

_We had barely seated ourselves__ before the criers called "King Harry of England, come into the Court."_

"_Here, my lords!" King Henry's voice rang out, firm and clear._

"_Katherine, Queen of England, come into Court!" _

"_Here, my lords!" she shouted, and as she raised her head, I caught a glimpse of her face. Gone was the tired, defeated old woman who had called Anne a whore only minutes before. In her place was Catalina de Aragon, a daughter of Isabella de __Castilla, a woman who had been raised on the battlefield, and knew how to fight, for it was in her blood, the Trastamara blood. She was animated and ready. Ready to battle for her crown, her throne, and her right to rule the country._

_She sat like stone as the King began to speak, telling us all how he had doubted his marriage right from the beginning, but had overruled these doubts because of how much he loved her. He denied her permission to have her case heard in Rome, due to the fact that the Pope was the Emperor's prisoner, but he promised that this makeshift legatine court would be nothing but fair and impartial – something no-one really believed. _

_When he had finished, Queen Katherine was called upon. She rose, walked forward until she stood before King Henry, and then knelt at his feet. We watched with bated breath. What was she doing?_

_She was making a public appeal to the King. Her accented, broken English rang through the hall, sending shivers down the spines of all those who heard it._

"_Oh my sweet Lord, tell me – How have I offended you? These past twenty years, I have lived with you, obeyed you, and cherished you as a wife should always cherish a husband. I have favoured all those whom you favoured, be it for personal reason or for political reason. I have never once raised my voice in complaint against you, and I have birthed you many children, though it has pleased God to call them to him before we believed they should have gone. That is no fault of mine, nor of yours, but we have our Mary. Our sweet Mary, the pearl of our world. She is our future King, Henry. Our future King and our future Queen, all in one person. I beseech you, for the love you bear her as your daughter, let me have justice and right. Hear me and believe me when I tell you this – when you lay with me on our wedding night, I was a virgin maid without touch of man. On this, I take God as my witness, and I swear it by his one true law. Whether it is true or not, I put to your conscience. You are a King, my husband, so be one."_

_Queen Katherine rose and curtsied deeply, then turned and left the hall on the arm of one of her gentlemen, whom I knew to be her receiver-general, Griffin Richards._

_Cardinal Wolsey shouted for her to return, but she paused, spun around, fixed the whole room with her steely eyes, and declared "I am no Englishwoman, my Lord of York, but instead a Spaniard born. If I am not His Majesty's wife, then I am not his subject, and as such, come under no jurisdiction that exists on these shores. Good day to you."_

_Then she strode out of the hall, every inch of her regal and defiant._

_She ignored the rest of the shouts for her to return, and instead went out amongst the common people, who cheered her and clapped her, roaring their support for Katherine of Aragon, who in their eyes, was the true Queen of England._

_King Henry looked stunned. No-one had ever defied him like that. Anne, at my side, burst into hot angry tears. I heard her choke out ""She is my death or I am hers! I will see her buried, please God, before she is the end of me!" and Mary whispering soothingly, doing her best to calm her little sister, but I paid little heed. I was staring after Queen Katherine. By walking out like that, she was openly displaying her distaste for this legatine Court, and her contempt for its ruling._

_ Even if the jury ruled in the King's favour, she would carry on fighting, and we had little or no cards left to play. If Queen Katherine fought on, fought for her daughter's right to rule England as a Queen Regnant, what were we going to do? _


	12. Lady Eleanor Brandon

_Chapter 12_

_Lady Eleanor Brandon_

_Several days after Queen Katherine's speech at Blackfriars, Cardinal Campeggio made a shock decision – he was revoking the decision upon King Henry's marriage back to Rome. Anne was furious!_

_Oh, to the King, she was her usual captivating self, smiling her Boleyn smile, dancing the seductive dances she could dance so well, never giving him, or indeed anyone, cause for complaint against her, but in private, she stormed and raged as though there were a tempest inside her that was struggling to get out. George was the only one who could calm her during those long hot days of early summer, so he was always with her – riding out with her, playing cards with her, helping her manage the King, and most of all, openly slandering Wolsey, even in the King's hearing._

_Oh yes. Wolsey was falling from His Majesty's grace fast, that much was clear. After all, not only were my family, Anne's family, the family of the woman Henry would do anything to please, against him, but the Brandons were too; the Duke of Suffolk had been heard saying that it was never merry in England when Cardinals surrounded us. Wolsey talked himself out of that one, but the point had been made, and I, Boleyn that I was, capitalised on it, sweet-talking my Henry, my sweetheart, into mentioning to his father that if Wolsey was got rid of, there would be more power for the lords to share around themselves. Of course, most of the power would go to our family, the Howards, but hinting possible power was enough to ensure Charles Brandon was on our side, something Anne __commended me for._

_Unable, of course, to tell her in public that I only managed it because his son would do anything for me; I merely flushed and whispered "I am glad to serve you, sister, as, in doing so, I serve the Howards." _

_Anne turned to our cousin Lady Margaret Wyatt, and remarked "Our little Eleanor's grown into a fine courtier, hasn't she?" _

"_She has, Anne. But then, how could she not, with a sister like you to emulate?" Margaret laughed, and I scowled briefly at her, and at Anne, before making to turn away. I __**hated**__ it when people treated me like a child. Seeing my face, Anne caught my arm._

"_I'm sorry, Eleanor. I never intended to say that. I just said it without thinking, when you answered me so formally." _

"_It's all right, Anne. We all slip up sometimes. Even you. Just, well, when we're in public, remember that I am your fourteen year old sister, not a little girl."_

"_I'll try."_

_ Chuckling, Anne let me go, and I hurried away, out into the gardens, where Lord Henry Brandon was waiting for me._

"_Eleanor. I thought you would never come!" He pulled me to him, and ran his hand lovingly down my cheek. _

"_It was hard to slip away – Anne detained me. I'm sorry, darling." I leant up and kissed him by way of apology, before changing the subject. "You are coming on progress with us, aren't you?"_

"_Yes. I wouldn't miss it for the world. It's the best time of year." Henry lay down in the sun, and I joined him, freeing my hair from the headdress which confined it, and allowing it to spread out over his chest as I leant my head back against him. _

"_It is, isn't it? And this year, without Queen Katherine around, well, there'll be little decorum..." I tipped my head up engagingly, fixing him with that promising half-smile he loved, and left him to finish what I had begun to say._

"_We can do as we please!"_

"_No. We can't. I'm a Howard girl, Henry. My Uncle sees everything, especially at the moment. He's watching for any scandal that might besmirch Anne's name and risk jeopardising King Henry's courtship of her. It's stifling, honestly. God, I feel like a falcon who's been trapped in a cage and deprived of any proper form of life!" I choked out the last words in a sudden fit of spontaneous anger, sighing bitterly._

"_Then what, Eleanor, are you doing __**here**__? With me?" Henry half-teased, half-asked, as his hand trailed absently through my shining hair. I giggled girlishly._

"_I slipped away for once. I wanted to be myself, without having to watch my every move. I haven't long though. Someone will come looking for me sooner or later, and if I'm caught with you, like this, we'll be in so much disgrace…"My sentence trailed off, and Henry took advantage of my distraction to roll over on top of me, and kiss me light-heartedly, mockingly, enticingly._

"_Then what are we going to do? How on earth am I going to make you a respectable young woman again, fit to be sister-in-law to our most gracious sovereign lord? How am I to release you from those strangling jesses of yours? I'm only thirteen myself, you know." he replied, stifled laughter in his voice. I sat up, and pushed him off me, murmuring into his ear "Oh but Henry, my sweet lord, it's quite easy. Just ask me one question, that's all. You know which one."_

"_I do. Oh Eleanor, I do!" Henry scrambled to his feet, and pulled me up too, before capturing my wandering hand in his and holding it, as he kissed me with more passion than he ever had before._

_As we broke apart, he dropped his voice to a murmur, and said the words I had been waiting months to hear. "Eleanor. Fair Eleanor Boleyn. Sister to the future Queen. Eleanor Boleyn, Queen of my heart, will you be my Duchess, forever and forever? Will you marry me?" _

_****_

"_Anne! Anne!" I tore through the palace, shouting my sister's name. I burst through the doors of our bedchamber, and fell at her feet, gasping for air._

"_What is it, Eleanor?" My sister looked up from the book she was reading._

"_He's asked me! Henry Brandon! He's asked me to marry him! Will you go to the King on our behalf and ask him to bless our union?" In my intense delight, I didn't even think to prepare the ground – I just asked her straight out. Anne dropped her book._

"_Henry Brandon just did what?" I should have been warned by the tension in her voice, but I wasn't._

"_He asked me to marry him! He proposed! Will you go to the King for us?"_

"_No. Eleanor, I cannot __**believe**__ you would __**do**__ this! Did you learn nothing from what I told you of my courtship of Henry Percy? From how I handled Thomas Wyatt? You have to marry whomever the family wishes you to marry, not follow your heart's desires! It only brings you to ruin! Get out!"_

"_But Anne -" I protested, tears in my eyes. Surely if she listened to me, Anne would realise how much I loved my Henry; that it would be cruel to separate us. After all, hadn't she promised she would help me secure myself a betrothal to whoever I loved first?_

"_No. Get out, and don't come back until you've regained some sense. I expected better of you, sister."_

_Not waiting to hear any more, I fled the room, crying. George met me in the passageway._

"_Hold hard, little sister! What's wrong?" he queried tenderly, drawing me close to him. Suddenly, I found myself in floods of tears, as I told him everything._

"_I love Henry Brandon, George. All I want to do is spend the rest of my life with him, and I thought Anne would understand! I don't ask for much, brother. I serve Anne willingly, I serve her with loyalty, and all I want in return is the granting of one favour! __**One**__; to be able to marry the boy I love! Can't you make her reconsider?"_

"_I can try, sister. The trouble is, with you begging her to secure you a marriage, Anne has realised how many years are slipping away from her – years when she could have married and borne heirs. Borne healthy, living, sons. No wonder she's going to react strongly."_

"_I never thought of that." I admitted. "But – please, brother?"_

"_Nevertheless, I shall try. Leave this to me."_

_****_

_George was as good as his word, and what's more, he succeeded. Anne gave her blessing, the King gave his blessing, and on Whit Sunday of the Year of our Lord 1530, Anne, Mary and Frances Brandon helped me to dress in a sumptuous gown of silver taffeta, bedecked with emeralds and aquamarines. I threw a silver net veil, so fine it almost seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, down over my face, and we set off for the Chapel Royal._

_As I entered, Thomas Talis, the choir's finest musician, struck up a stately march, and George bore me down the aisle on his arm. Father had wanted to do it, but I had begged for George, citing King Henry escorting Princess Catalina at her wedding to his brother Arthur as my example._

_Henry was waiting for me, and he held out his hand to me, clasping it in his as George gave me over, bending his head low and whispering "Lady Eleanor Margaret Brandon nee Boleyn. It has a ring to it, little sister." I beamed up at him, willing myself not to laugh out loud, as Henry and I knelt before the altar, and the service began._

_I remember little of the service itself, save how long-winded the vows seemed, and how I ached for them to be over. _

_At last they were. At last Henry was murmuring "I do." and I was doing the same, and then he was raising me up before the crowd, and throwing back the veil. _

_Having got this far, Henry hesitated for a moment. It was understandable, this being after all, our first kiss in public, but I, yearning for the familiar feel and taste of his lips on mine, dipped my head slightly, as though to give him permission. He needed no second urging. _

_His lips crushed mine with such zeal, such fervour, such ardour, that I almost staggered with surprise. A moment later, however, I had melted inside, and I was returning the kiss with just as much passion as he put into it. As we finally broke apart, to the cheers of the assembled crowd, we glanced at each other. In that instant I knew, just as certainly as he did, that I was never going to be just a Howard girl again. I was Lady Eleanor Margaret Brandon now, and nothing would ever change that._

_Laughing, I gave my new husband my hand, and we turned to lead the guests into our wedding breakfast._

_Lady Eleanor Margaret Brandon. I liked the sound of it._

AN: **So **sorry for the delay between updates – I've just had so much to do! Thanks for all being so patient - I hope this makes up for it (aren't Henry and Eleanor just so perfect together?) and that you don't mind this chapter being focused solely on Eleanor, rather than on the Great Matter as well,; it just came out that way! Please R and R!!


	13. Archery, Tricks, and an Arrest

_Chapter 13_

_Archery, Tricks, and an Arrest _

_It was Autumn in the year 1530, and I, fifteen summers old and__ now a happily married wife, had come back to Court with my husband Henry Brandon, having spent the last few weeks on a honeymoon of sorts in the Country. Even at Court, things changed. As I was a married woman, I no longer bedded in a small chamber off my sister's apartments with Anne or Mary; I had my own chambers now, ones I shared with Henry, and as I was the Countess of Lincoln and the future Duchess of Suffolk, I enjoyed even greater status at Court than I had previously, when I had been widely recognised as the youngest and favourite sister of Lady Anne Boleyn, the King's sweetheart. I revelled in it._

_I had jewels, gowns, more than one maid in waiting of my very own, and I was constantly at my sister's side, at the centre of every masque, every pageant, every banquet, glittering and giggling as my husband or my brother spun me round the dance floor._

_Henry sometimes complained that he never saw me, I was at Anne's side so much, but I knew how to deal with him when he was like that. I would slip away from Anne's ladies early in the evening; much earlier than I normally did, and take him up to our chambers, shutting and bolting the doors behind us. I would fall to my knees before him, and slowly pull myself up against him, trailing kisses all over his body as I did so. It never failed to work. __However upset, however disdainful, however irate he tried to remain, by the time I had reached his shoulders, and was rubbing them gently with my mouth, massaging him with my lips, Henry would be quivering with desire. He would practically rip my gown off my bare back if I so much as turned away for a split-second, and then he would sweep me into his arms as best he could ( we __**were**__ nearly the same height, after all), carry me to the bed, and throw me backwards on to it, leaping on top of me and beginning to make love to me before I had a chance to protest - hot, desperate, passionate love that no girl stood even half a chance of resisting, let alone his willing wife._

_And so the blissful, carefree cycle of life at Court went on, until the evening of the Archery Contest._

_**** _

_I could hear nothing but the twang of bowstrings, and the cheers of the crowd if someone shot well. I half-turned my head, adjusting the strap of my quiver so that it settled more comfortably in the small of my back. As I did so, I felt someone's eyes on me. I glanced up, and met the gleaming onyx eyes of my sister, Lady Anne Rochford. I flashed her a smile, and nodded crisply. It wouldn't do to be too affectionate, not at that precise moment. We __**were **__both competing in an archery contest organised by His Majesty, after all. Sisters we might have been, but we were both good archers, and a contest was a contest. We both fiercely wanted to win._

_The third and last lady left in the competition was Lady Elizabeth Ferrers, whose turn it was to shoot. I __turned to watch, holding my breath, as she prepared herself as best she could._

_I needn't have worried._

_She drew back her bowstring, and aimed, but just as she released the arrow, the nerves got to her. Her hand trembled slightly__, and the shot went wide. Scarcely hiding a beam of triumph, I stepped up to take her place. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mary, Father and Uncle talking nearby, but whatever they were saying, it was irrelevant to me. I glanced at Anne, who stood a mere half a dozen paces away from me, awaiting her own turn. Her lively eyes were fixed on me, but as I glanced over at her, she dipped her head, just slightly. I knew what she meant. It didn't matter now, not to her. It was Boleyn against Boleyn. Whatever happened, a Boleyn would win. That was what mattered to her._

_But to me, the sweet taste of success was even more important. Blocking her out, I spun to face the target. In one fluid motion, the bow was off my shoulder, the arrow had been notched, and I was pulling the string taut. One moment of tension, one brief, familiar tickle of feathery barbs against my cheek, and then the arrow was free, speeding towards its target swift and straight as the crow flies._

_The crowd applauded my shot, rising to its feet as one, but I surveyed it critically. It hadn't been my best shot. Anne could beat it if she wanted to._

_And she did. A second later, another arrow, this one hers, flew past my head, directly into the centre of the target. She had won._

_Swallowing my pique and envy, I turned to her, and embraced her briefly, nodding my congratulations wordlessly, before the King, who had dashed down from the Royal box, appeared at our side. _

_He handed me a small emerald on a golden chain, saying "Well done, Lady Eleanor, or indeed, I should say, Mistress Brandon. You too are a fine archer." _

"_Thank you, Your Majesty." I replied, trying to curtsey, and fasten the pendant around my neck at the same time. He laughed as I fumbled the clasp, and Anne had to come to my rescue, doing it up so that it could not slip as I rose to watch her take off her hood, and accept a tiara set with diamonds and star sapphires from the King. He kissed her, and set the tiara upon her tumbled black locks, to the crowd's raucous approval. He swung her around to face the courtiers and proclaimed "To the North and to the South, to the East and to the West, I give you the English Queen of Archery – the Lady Anne Boleyn!" He then knelt before her himself. The rest of us followed his example, but I caught sight of a few scandalised looks as we did so. King Henry was celebrating Anne's archery triumph with all the pageantry of a mock coronation. In a jesting manner, he was proclaiming her to be the next Queen. It was only a matter of time before she was formally crowned now, and we all knew it._

_****_

_That evening, Mary and I were in Anne's rooms when a messenger arrived, bearing a note with the King's seal on it. Anne cracked it open and read._

"_What is it?" I came up behind her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder._

"_He wants me to go to him." she replied dully, not even turning round. _

"_Will you go?"_

"_I have to. I have to pleasure him. He insists upon it, Eleanor, and if I try to avoid it, he threatens to leave me for another girl, one who's younger than me, prettier than me, one who __**will **__pleasure him if he wants it."_

"_Just out of curiosity, what do you do with him? How do you pleasure him, I mean? He hasn't had you yet, has he?"_

"_No! I'm not a whore!" she snapped, her vicious temper flaring briefly before she turned to me and softened. _

"_No." she repeated, more quietly. Then she twisted away and stalked to the window, scowling. "He'll touch me though. He'll stroke my breasts; he'll put his hand up my skirt. There's no help for it. And then he'll thrust __**it**__ into my hand, and force himself to – Oh God, I can't even talk of it, it's so awful! It's awful, and it's mad! Mad because it'll never give me a child, and I need one so badly!" Anne was shaking with disgust. Mary looked up._

"_Those are whore's tricks, Anne. Those are the tricks of a whore, of a concubine. Surely he thinks badly of you for using them on him?"_

"_What else can I __**do**__, Marianne? What else can I do to keep him the way he is?" Anne sighed bitterly._

"_You can learn some more." Mary replied frankly, laying aside her book. "You can learn to undress very slowly, and touch yourself in front of him. It drives him mad – makes him blink back tears of lust. You can learn to kneel before him, take it into your mouth and suck on it, very gently, very slowly, very tenderly. He used to love that. I'll wager he still does."_

_At this point, I collapsed on to the bed, almost weeping with laughter. The look of complete revulsion on Anne's face was too amusing for words. Anne whirled on me._

"_And what would __**you**__ suggest, little sister? I shouldn't think you've consummated __**your **__marriage yet either." she spat. Stung, I leapt to my feet once more._

"_I have, as a matter of fact! You can always sit down on the bed in front of him, and let him put his hand between your legs. Encourage him to move the skin in a circular direction. I swear, Anne, it'll drive you both mad with desire." I promised her, reaching up and setting her hood straight, before nudging her towards the door. She went reluctantly, and Mary and I promptly glanced at each other, and subsided into peals of helpless laughter._

_What Anne was about to do would please the King but would annoy her – we both knew that. What would trigger her temper this time?_

_****_

_A matter of some shirts. Queen Katherine still sewed the King's shirts, and to say Anne wasn't happy when she realised would be the understatement of the century. She railed at King Henry, accusing him of never having loved her, of stringing her along with false promises, of never intending to marry her. She screamed that she would leave Court this very day, sail to France, and contract some advantageous marriage for herself there. He soothed her again given time, giving her strings of rubies, and even, in his desperation to please her, ordering the immediate arrest of Cardinal Wolsey, her arch-enemy._

_He even allowed her to choose the noble who would convey the news of his arrest to Wolsey, and she chose Henry Percy, the very Earl who she had once hoped to marry, indeed had betrothed herself to, until Wolsey broke it off, declaring that an upstart Boleyn was no suitable match for the future Earl of Northumberland, and earning himself Anne's lifelong loathing into the bargain. Henry Percy rode for Wolsey's home in Suffolk, and Anne began planning an elaborate masque, which was ominously titled "The Going to Hell of Cardinal Wolsey." _

_In the midst of all the excitement, I sought out my eldest sister Mary. I needed her advice on a womanly matter._

_She was sorting swatches of fabric to make into costumes for the masque Anne was planning when __I sank down into the window-seat beside her, and touched her arm. She smiled kindly at me, and I decided to take the plunge, and just ask her outright._

"_Mary?"_

"_Yes, sister?"_

"_How do you tell if – well, if you're carrying a baby?" I finally muttered, blushing beetroot red._

"_Well, you won't have your courses for a start – you won't bleed once a month and you might feel a bit sick in the mornings. Why do you ask?" she answered almost carelessly. I opened my mouth to reply, but suddenly, Mary twisted in her seat to face me, her face lighting up in excited hope._

"_Hang on. What are you trying to tell me, Eleanor? You don't think? Surely?"_

_I nodded. _

"_I haven't had a course for at least six weeks, and I couldn't stand the smell of the warm milk at breakfast this morning. Mary, I think I might be with child – Henry Brandon's child."_

AN: Sorry it's taken so long – school's been a nightmare. Nor will you get an update in a hurry, I'm afraid – I'm going away on my summer holidays for five weeks tomorrow, and even when I get back, I have another story to finish as a present, so that's going to take up my time instead of this.

Hopefully after that, though, I should be able to update a little more frequently, though I'll be in the fourth year, and doing History and Geography in my second language, German, and learning Chemistry, Biology and Physics, so I wouldn't hold your breath!

Thanks for being so patient, though – I truly am sorry, and I hope this sort of makes up for the wait.


	14. Miscarriage and Misery

_Sister to the Queen _

_Chapter 14_

_Miscarriage and Misery_

_I said nothing to Anne, or to anybody else, for that matter, of my hope of being with child, but Mary, my beloved sister Mary, watched me closely, both of us counting the days. Anne didn't, but then she had her own troubles. The way she flared up at the King so easily was beginning to anger him. And he didn't mind showing it. I had come up to Anne's rooms one day, meaning to ask if I could borrow some silver ribbon, to trim my new French hood with, when I heard His Majesty bellowing with rage. At my sister._

_  
"That masque of yours was vile! And sacrileg__e! Wolsey was always a good man!" I froze in horror. Wolsey was the one subject certain to enrage my sister - and yet now was not the time for her to lose control. She __**had**__ to keep it together. I silently willed her to. Sadly, she didn't._

"That butcher´s son was no loyal subject of yours, Henry! Have you forgotten that he failed, time and time again, to get your annulment for you? And then, while he still professed to have nothing but love and admiration for Your Majesty, he was secretly favouring the cause of the Princess Dowager. He is nothing but a lying traitor!

"Katherine as yet remains my Queen, Anna Maria. You'd do well to remember it. And as for Walsey being a butcher's son, have you forgotten that I myself raised him to a position of power? As I have raised you? And that I humbled him again at your bidding? I've made many enemies for your sake; I have torn this country apart - for you!"  
"It matters not!" Anne screamed, tossing her dark head. "You are rid of a tyrant - you are king in deed as well as in word. You ought to be expressing

_**gratitude**__, not __**upbraiding**__ me."_

_  
"I've always been King. I could humble you again in an instant!" Henry roared at her, flinging the door wide open in as he spoke. Anne made as if to retort, but he stormed out, barely acknowledging the curtsey I swept him as he passed. I rose nevertheless, and turned to fix worried sapphire blue eyes upon my elder sister._

"_Anne, what are __you going to do? If King Henry's in a temper, if he's openly arguing with you…"_

__

"It doesn't matter, sister. He'll be back within the hour, bearing some trinket or other. He can't bear me to be displeased with him."

"At the moment", I reminded her warningly.  
"When you're Queen…"

"I'll give him a son. And then he will love me forever. He'll never foresake the mother of his heir."  
"But…."  
"I said, it doesn't matter! Now, was it the gold ribbon you came for?"

"No, the silver, but…"

"Oh, honestly! If you're that worried, Eleanor, tonight I shall act as if nothing is the matter. I promise. Now take the ribbon, will you? Take it and go. George and Francis Weston are here to see me."  
"No, stay, Eleanor, will you be our fourth at cards?" George asked me, as I went to go past him. I nodded, tucking the ribbon into an inside pocket of my gown.  
Anne shuffled and dealt, we three arranged ourselves comfortably around her and the game began.

_****_

_Anne looked dazzling that night, in a gown of scarlet satin, edged with black velvet, and, with my eyes upon her, she danced, sang and played her very best for the King, and for the King alone._

__

She enraptured him afresh, and, for the next couple of weeks, we Boleyns basked in the warmth of unshakeable royal favour.  
Not only that, but, as it was already late November, and I had not had a course since September, I knew I hadto be pregnant, pregnant with the future heir to the Suffolk dukedom.

Mary knew, too. She came up behind me one day and whispered:"Have you told your husband yet?"

"No, I want to be sure, absolutely sure. I don't want to make a mistake."

"Eleanor, it's two months since you last bled, isn't it?"

"Almost three." I admitted, beseeching her with a look to keep her voice down.

Mary looked as if she was about to say something, but then, William Stafford, one of our uncle's gentlemen, came up and touched her arm.  
"Excuse me a moment, sister."

Mary turned towards him and drew him away a little. I watched them for a moment, curious. Their voices were too low for me to hear what they were saying, but something in Mary's manner reminded me of something - or someone - but who?

And then, all of a sudden, it came to me: Anne.

Mary's behaviour reminded me of Anne, in the early days of Henry's courtship of her, when she had first been flirting with him.  
But why would Mary be flirting with a nobody? One of our uncle's serving men?

I shook my head, desperately trying to clear it from such confusing thoughts, as Mary, laughing and blushing slightly, came over to me.  
I was about to ask what that was all about, when she swiftly lowered her voice and broke in "You need to tell Henry. Go up to your rooms. I'll send him to you."

"Thanks!" With a relieved smile at my sister, I ran out of the gardens and up to my bedchamber. I threw aside my hood and fell onto the bed, reclining on my side, with one hand in my abundant curls. At the sound of Henry's footsteps in the hall, I looked up towards the door, a slightly nervous smile curving gently on my lips.

My nerves only increased when, in his haste to get to me, Henry crossed the room in two strides, fell on to his knees beside the bed, gripping my hands so tightly that it actually hurt.

"Eleanor, Eleanor, what is it, love? Mary said you need to speak to me urgently. Are you ill?"

"No, no." I almost laughed at the sight of his panic stricken face. "No, Henry, I'm not ill. What's the best news you can imagine?"

"The King's allowing us to leave court?"

I shook my head vigorously.

"No."

"Anne's been declared lawful Queen and is pregnant with His Majesty's son and heir?"

"I wish! No."

Henry sat back on his heels, and thought for a moment.

"I have no idea. Tell, dear wife, tell!"

"I'm carrying your child!"

I had meant to draw out the suspense a little longer, to make him tease it out of me bit by bit, but suddenly I couldn't bear to. I just wanted to see the look on his face.

I wasn't disappointed. Henry's face lit up and he pulled me to my feet.

"Really?"

"Yes. It's due in May, or perhaps the first week of June."

"Oh, Eleanor, that's the best news I've heard all day! Are you all right, sweetheart? Do you need anything? Anything at all?"

"No, no." I was openly laughing now, as Henry spun me around the room, whooping in delight. Suddenly he stopped.

"I'm tiring you. How foolish of me! Let's go and tell our relatives."

I nodded. "Yes."

But Henry held up a hand to stop me. "I'll do it. You need to rest."

Henry helped me to undress and to change into my nightshift and laid me tenderly on the bed. He stooped, kissed me on the forehead, called my maid to sit with me until I was asleep, and then practically ran from the room, so great was his eagerness to tell everyone the momentous news.

I watched him go, barely able to keep from screaming with delight. I was pregnant and my husband loved me. How could the world be any better?

_****_

_Not easily. Anne only proved that when, in early December, she made herself a laughing stock with the creation of a new motto –"Ainsi sera, groinge qui groigne – Thus it will be, grudge who grudge" which was very like a device of her enemy, the Emperor's._

_She soon gave up the device, but insisted on keeping the tapestry which showed our fabricated descent from a 12__th__ century Norman Lord, instead of a much more recent Mayor of London, which was the real truth._

_King Henry wasn't best pleased, but, fearful of Anne's lashing tongue, he prudently kept his mouth shut. _

_However, fine as the piece was, I often found Anne gazing at the tapestry vacantly, gazing at it as though it held no real meaning for her, which puzzled me, for I thought she ought to have been happier with it. I was so puzzled that I brought up the matter one day when I was brushing her raven-black hair for her._

"_Aren't you happy with the tapestry, Anne?"_

_Anne glanced at it despondantly._

"_I never wanted it, Eleanor. Oh, I adore being mistress of the King's heart; having him at my beck and call is fabulous, and I love the power and influence it brings, I love the glittering prospect of becoming Queen, but I want to achieve it as Anne Boleyn – plain old Anne Boleyn. I only agreed to this fabrication because Father and Uncle forced me to it."_

"_What? Couldn't you have stood firm? You're the King's favourite – surely they have to listen to what you say."_

"_I tried, Eleanor. Sadly, little sister, men still rule. The world's not changed that much for me – not yet. I've got the dratted thing now, and Uncle expects me to show it off." Anne sighed bitterly, and the mask of happy confidence, the mask of a woman who is preparing for queenship, the mask she always wore, suddenly slipped, revealing, for an instant, just how exhausted she was. I put my hand on her shoulder, not knowing what to say. I was happily married to Henry Brandon. I didn't have to wait out these long agonising years to achieve my heart's desire – I already had mine._

_Then, all of a sudden, Anne swung round to me, her face lighting up as she put her hand on my stomach, which, now that I was into my fourth month of pregnancy, was gently rounded, jutting out a little over my feet. _

"_But sister, how are __**you**__? Both of you?"_

"_Fine, thank you. The child is reasonably strong. It's hard to rest sometimes." I murmured, smiling as I thought of the tiny life which nestled inside me, growing stronger day by day._

"_Have you thought of a name yet?"_

"_I rather like George, but Henry's father would rather have it named after him. And as for a girl, well, we have several possibilities."_

" _Tell me." Anne shifted on her stool by the fire, as I drew up a chair, and began to talk at length about the plans Henry and I had for our coming child._

_****_

_We never got to put any of them into practice._

"_On New Year's Day, 1531, I had returned to Anne's rooms with her to rest before the evening banquet, when my stomach turned over._

"_Ah!"I gasped, staggering. Anne was at my side in an instant._

"_Eleanor, what is it?" _

_She put out her hand to me, and I clung to her, moaning and keening with pain as I pressed my legs together, hoping - praying that it was all a nightmare._

_No. The blood began to run down my legs, slowly at first, then more and more quickly._

"_Anne. The baby." It was all I could manage._

"_Mary! George! Get a physician! Anne shouted over her shoulder, catching me into her arms as I crumpled to the ground. She carried me to her own bed, not caring that she would stain the sheets, never mind her best gown._

_I struggled in her arms, but, being only 15 summers of age as opposed to her 22, I could hardly do anything as she bore me expertly across the room._

_She encouraged me gently on to her bed, and I complied, lapsing in and out of conciousness, as the blood gushed out of me, taking with it the life of what would have been my first born child. _

_By the time Dr. Linacre arrived, it was too late. There was nothing anyone could do._

_****_

_The next days and weeks were difficult for all of us – especially me. Anne and Mary were with me through it all, but Father and Uncle were both furious with me for suffering the miscarriage, and reduced me to tears of the matter on more than one occasion, as they scolded me for not securing my future by providing Henry with a son, a future Earl of Lincoln and heir to the dukedom of Suffolk. Henry himself swore he still loved me, but didn't know how to deal with my highly-strung nerves, which, as he was only fourteen himself, was understandable, but left me feeling even more depressed than before. I withdrew into myself, relying more and more on Anne and Mary for companionship – even though Mary was rarely there, instead vanishing for hours at a time. Given her actions a month or two before, I strongly suspected that she might be keeping an eye out for William Stafford, but said nothing, deciding that I would confront her when, and only when, the time seemed right._

_In the meantime, however, I was too overwhelmed by shock, anger, frustration, grief, misery, and lots of other negative feelings to be able to summon up interest in anything else, even when the King declared himself Supreme Head of the Church, and began proceedings to rule on the validity of his own marriage. _

_At this point, even my beloved brother George lost patience with me._

"_My God, Eleanor, pull yourself together! You're not the only woman who's suffered a miscarriage!" he yelled, causing me to jump._

"_Your sister is Queen in all but name, and yet you're moping around as though the end of the world is imminent or something. Get over it, and get back into Henry's bed! The Brandons need an heir!"_

_I forced myself to look at him as he ranted, but it was Anne who leapt to my defence._

"_If she's not ready, George, she's not ready! Let her be, for heaven's sake. A miscarriage is a dreadful thing!"_

"_That's as may be, but Father's losing patience with her, Anne. Uncle too."_

"_I'm only fifteen. Henry's going to turn fifteen next month. We've years ahead of us in which to provide an heir for Suffolk. Now leave me alone." _

_I swung around away from my brother, wondering whether to use my new-found status as a Countess, and order him to leave me, but, before I could decide, he softened, coming round behind me and taking my arm._

"_Look, Eleanor. I don't mean to be cruel, but you do need to make __**some **__sort of effort to rejoin life again. The likelihood is that this isn't going to be the only baby you're going to lose, but you're not going to have __**any**__ more babies unless you go back into Henry Brandon's bed. Please, Eleanor. Do it for the Boleyns. Please."_

"_All right." I sighed reluctantly. "If I have to."_

_****_

_I went back into my husband's bedchamber, but I wasn't happy. One night, a few months after the miscarriage, Henry was late to bed, and I found my arms stretching out for my child (for by now it would have been born) but, naturally, my fingers met nothing but air._

_I wept afresh._

_My feelings were even more confused than normal, because Princess Mary was here at Court, paying a rare visit to her mother, and seeing the Queen and her daughter (who, after all, was only eight months younger than me) together, made me ache even more to hold a child of my own in my arms._

_I was weeping so hard that, at first, I didn't even realise that Henry had come to bed – not until he took hold of me, and turned me to face him._

"_Eleanor. What is it? Why are you so sad?"_

"_The Queen – Princess Mary -"_

"_What about them?"_

"_They're so perfect together."_

"_So? You're the prettiest woman at Court, my darling. My sun. Why would you suddenly be so upset by those two. They can't hold a candle to you." Henry stroked my hair, treating me tenderly for the first time in what seemed like forever._

"_Because – Oh God, I want a child, Henry. I want one so badly, and yet – what if I can't concieve? I need an heir, you need an heir – I've already failed once -" _

_Henry rose above me and stopped my flood of panic with a firm, passionate kiss._

"_We're young, Eleanor." he murmured huskily. "We're young. We have our whole lives ahead of us. And I adore you. Even if we don't get an heir this time, we'll try again. And again, if need be. I'd never forsake you, I swear."_

"_But then – Why keep yourself aloof? I needed you, Henry."_

"_I thought you needed time – time on your own to get over the miscarriage. I didn't realise you might want me rather than your sisters. I'm sorry, my love. I wish I'd known that sooner."_

"_So do I."_

"_Never mind now. I promise you, you're the only girl I could ever want. I'm here, I've got you, and I love you with all my heart." Though it seemed impossible, Henry somehow pulled me even closer._

"_Let's make up for lost time then." I suggested in a whisper, giggling girlishly, trailing my lips up and down the neckline of his nightshirt._

"_Yes. I agree. And I promise: We – will – get – you – a – baby." Henry whispered fiercely, stripping off and loosening the strings of my nightshift as he spoke, punctuating his actions with a kiss for each new word._

_There was no need to speak after that. Our bodies had not forgotten the rhythm of our lovemaking, and we fell easily into the familiar pattern, crooning and gasping as we explored each other with new delight._

_The night passed in a cycle of making love, and Henry drifting off – I was far too aroused to sleep._

_At last, as dawn was breaking, Henry went stiff above me once more. I held my breath, not daring to move, as, with a grunt, he released. My body accepted his latest offering, and then I rolled out from under him, sighing softly with pleasure. Henry fell asleep immediately, and I leant up on one elbow, and kissed him as he dozed, worn out with his endeavours._

_Then I too sank back into the many soft pillows and – finally – drifted off._

_For the first time in months, I smiled as I slept. _


	15. Katherine, The Abandoned Queen

_Chapter 15_

_Katherine, The Abandoned Queen _

_The next few weeks were like a second honeymoon for both Henry and myself. We obtained the King's permission to spend a week or two at our manor in the country, and rode there immediately, our hearts lightening with every stride our horses took. We raced each other down the tree-lined avenues that led to our property, shouting with laughter as though we were merely two lovesick children without any responsibilities, instead of the Earl and Countess of Lincoln__, two of the highest ranking and most favoured courtiers at King Henry Tudor's Court._

_The days passed in a whirl. We'd hear the petitioners in the morning, it was true, but as soon as the doors shut behind the last of them, we'd call for a cold lunch to be packed for us, and our horses to be saddled, rush upstairs to change into our riding attire, and then canter off through the fields, leaving our chores undone and unheeded behind us. It wouldn't have been doable, if it hadn't been for James White, our extremely capable steward, and Grace Parker, niece to our chaplain, and my devoted maid and, should the need arise, housekeeper, but, as it was, we would ride all afternoon, racing each other across the meadows, and vying with each other as to who knew the farmers and their wives and children better; which of us they trusted more with their grievances; before returning late in the evening, ravenously hungry, to partake of a large supper, after which we would fall into bed together, absolutely exhausted – but not too tired to satisfy our greatest desire: each other!_

_Heavenly as it was, though, it couldn't last for long, and early one morning, I received a letter I really did not want to receive – a letter bearing my sister's seal._

_In contrast to the days of my childhood, when, upon being given a letter from either of my sisters, I would eagerly rip it open – sometimes tearing the neat lines of bold handwriting in the process - and then go flying through the passages of Hever or Blickling to find my governess or even my mother, so that we might read the letter together – for, as part of my lessons, my mother instructed my sisters (and brother, once Father took him to Court with him to begin serving their Majesties as a page) to write to me as well upon occasion, that I might read their missives aloud to her, and in doing so, also show her how much of the beautiful French language I had already learnt – I opened this one slowly, unwillingly, even reluctantly, and scanned its contents, chuckling at the memory of how I always used to favour reading Mary's letters over Anne's in those days, for, though her handwriting was less beautifully formed, the style of the letters, and their contents, were also simpler, for she had never quite grasped the French language as well as our other sister, our dark, intelligent sister, had._

_Soon enough, however, the chuckle died in my throat. Anne was on progress with the King, and they both expected me, and my husband, to rejoin them at Windsor as soon as was possible._

_Sighing, I rose to my feet, clutched the letter tight in my hand, and went in search of my husband. I found him in his private study, looking over some plans for a new stable block and wing to the house with the steward. I tapped lightly, before pushing the door, which was already ajar, open further, and stepping into the room. Neither man looked up, so I coughed discreetly to announce my presence._

"_Henry?"_

"_Oh, Eleanor, you startled me. What is it?" he asked, glancing up from the papers spread out before on the table, as James dipped a hasty bow, saying "Madam Eleanor."_

_I spared a moment to flash Ja__mes a friendly smile and wish him a good morning, before turning to my husband._

"_I've had a letter from Anne. She and the King want us both back at Court immediately."_

_As I had expected, his brow creased into a frown, and he dismissed James, promising to speak with him again as soon as he could. "Are you sure?"_

"_Anne's quite plain about what she wants, Henry. Not to mention that the King's calling us back. We have to go."_

"_Are you – I mean, maybe I have to go, but with you in your present condition -" Henry's voice trailed off, and I shook my head, scoffing at him._

"_I have hopes of being with child, Henry, nothing more. Anne's not going to accept that as an excuse. She's utterly determined to have me at her side this summer, and, as I wasn't there last summer, what with us learning to live with each other as man and wife down here in Lincoln, well, I feel I'd better be with her this year, at least."_

"_You don't have to be with her, you know. She's not Queen yet, my love. She's not even a Countess. You outrank her. You can do as you please."_

"_No. I can't. Much as I'd like to, I can't. I might be a Brandon by marriage, but by birth, I'm a Howard, a Boleyn. The Boleyns work together. I need to come with you. I need to be with my sister." I retorted, before stalking from the room to supervise the packing._

_****_

_It was just as well I did go with my husband, for in early July, barely a fortnight later than Henry and I rejoined the Court, King Henry and my sister woke us all at the crack of dawn, and we left Windsor before it was properly light. The Queen, Queen Katherine of Aragon, and her daughter, the Princess Mary Tudor, remained behind. I couldn't understand it. Surely, if we were on progress, we should all wait for one another. In the end, I went to find Anne, and ask her what was going on. However, she was already in the saddle when I caught sight of her, looking steely and resolute, so I had no choice but to return to Henry, and to allow him to lift me on to my dapple grey mare, Moonlight, and to arrange my skirts over the pommel of the saddle as he mounted himself._

"_What's going on? Why aren't we waiting for proper daylight, at the very least? This riding in this half-light will end in us all breaking our necks, I swear." I grumbled to him under my breath, as we turned our horses' heads for the great golden gates of the palace yard, and spurred them forward. He turned his head to me, and suddenly, in that instant, he looked like a man twice his age – his eyes were so full of sorrowing, and his face so hard and grave. _

"_I don't know, Eleanor. I don't know, but I fear that this is to be King Henry's final parting from Queen Katherine."_

"_The final parting? But -" I broke off as our cavalcade moved forward. I twisted in the saddle to look back at the palace. It was quiet – one might almost have said deathly so. "The poor Queen." I murmured at last, pity finally stirring in me for that great woman. Henry whipped his head round to glare at me._

"_Don't ever let your sister hear you say that. She's delighted by this, and didn't you yourself say that the Boleyns worked together?"_

"_Yes." I muttered sullenly._

"_Then so should you be."_

"_I am! It's just – I didn't realise Anne's ambition had run this deep; that she'd poisoned the King against his wife to this extent." My voice was low, and my gaze flickered to the head of the procession, where my 22 year old sister rode beside the King, confidently upright in the saddle, her back firmly ramrod straight. I couldn't see her face, but I knew it would be schooled to show nothing at this, as though we were merely going out on a dawn hunt, and would be home by midday. Behind the Howard mask of boredom, though, would be thinly veiled spite and malicious pleasure. For a fleeting instant, as I thought of the Queen, waking to find that great palace so empty around her, I hated my sister, hated her for keeping the King dancing to her tune for so long; hated her for persuading him to abandon his Queen – in the middle of the summer progress, no less; hated her for what she was doing to the peace of the country. A second later, of course, I despised myself for hating Anne in the first place, for she was my sister, my own flesh and blood. Henry, who knew nothing of what was going through my head, broke into my thoughts, speaking fiercely to remind me of my place as a courtier. "It makes no odds, Eleanor. As a Boleyn, you ought to be happy right now."_

"_I am! It's only – oh leave it, Henry! You're a man – you wouldn't understand!"_

_As I spoke, I glanced back one last time, then, leaving Henry speechless, spurred my horse forward to catch my sister. I wanted some answers._

_She, hearing my hoof beats, dropped back from beside the King, and nodded brusquely at me as I slowed my horse to ride beside her. Where are we going, Anne?" I asked._

"_Woodstock. As planned." she answered shortly, her mind on her horse._

"_And Katherine? Princess Mary? Where will they go? Will they join us later?"_

_Anne's head snapped up at that. She glowered at me, and her face was suddenly as black as thunder. "My God, Eleanor, if we weren't on horseback, I'd slap you for that! Never mention them again!"_

"_But, Anne, I only asked -"_

"_Mary is go to Richmond, Eleanor, and Katherine to Easthampstead." George broke in, trying to spare me the lash of Anne's temper, but, as I glanced at him in confusion, and went to voice my next question, her self-control deserted her entirely._

"_Don't you __**understand**__? The King has banished them from his Court! Or are you so blinded by adoration for that weakling fool of a husband of yours that you can't even see __**that**__? Now, do as I say, and put them from your mind. They are of no consequence to us!" Anne dug her heels into her horse's sides, and drove it on ahead of us, too angry to even look at me. I glanced at George._

"_I think it would probably be best, Eleanor. The King's forbidden their names even to be mentioned from now on. But think about it this way. It means that Anne will be Queen in all but name. She is even to inhabit Katherine's suite of rooms in any palace we visit from now on. Her star's risen so high, I can scarcely fathom it, and we're rising with her. This is our time, little sister. Not Katherine's, not the Seymour's – but ours. Think of it like that, and try to be happy about it."_

_Then he too rode away from me, to catch Anne up, and to soothe her vicious temper, leaving me staring after him, unable to say a word__ as my mind whirled with everything I had just been told._

_King Henry wouldn't really allow Anne to occupy the Queen's rooms, would he? _

_He loved her, it was true, but even he wouldn't go that far, would he?_

_Surely not?_

_Surely?_

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews! I don't own history; only Eleanor Boleyn. By the way, her first daughter will be born in a couple of chapters' time, but the poor child needs a name! Can you all, on top of leaving a review, please go on my profile and cast your votes from the shortlist? Please? I'd really appreciate it!**


	16. Of Banquets and Birth

_Chapter 16_

_Of Banquets and Birth_

_It appeared that he would. Greenwich, Eltham, Richmond... as we moved around the countryside, visiting each and every one of King Henry Tudor's palaces, my sister, the Lady Anne Rochford occupied the suite of rooms that had formerly been Queen Katherine's everywhere we stayed, and, on the rare occasions that we did spend the night at a noble's house, our hosts were crisply commanded to allow her to have the use of the rooms that they had set aside for Her Majesty's use, and if they were foolish enough to protest, then King Henry coolly suggested that we would ride on immediately, not even staying long enough to refresh ourselves. That usually startled them into doing as he asked of them._

_The only family who almost refused were, ironically enough, the Brandons, the one I, Anne's own sister, was married into. When His Majesty decided that he would be spending a few days with Sir Charles, and his wife, my mother in law, Her Grace the Duchess of Suffolk, who was born Princess Mary Tudor of England, my husband Henry and I were the lucky ones who got to deliver the news to Her Grace at Bradgate._

_We rode there through the night, determined to stay ahead of the royal progress, and thanking our lucky stars that His Majesty and my sister would be delayed on the road by having to watch the pageants that were being set up for their entertainment. _

_At last, as dawn was breaking, we rode into their courtyard, utterly exhausted._

_Henry threw his horse's reins at a bleary-eyed stable lad, shouting for his father and mother. He caught me as I half-slid, half fell from the saddle, reeling with lack of sleep, and set me upright on my feet. Meanwhile, the great doors were flung open, and his sisters, the Lady Frances, two years younger than me, and now a healthy 14 year old, and the twelve year old Lady Eleanor, both bareheaded and barefoot, with silken wraps thrown hastily over their shoulders to conceal their nightgowns, tumbled out into the yard to greet us._

"_Brother! This is a pleasant surprise!" Frances ignored the fact that I was on Henry's arm, barely stopping to throw me a civil smile (despite the fact that we two used to be the closest of friends, before all the upheaval and the banishment of Queen Katherine), before embracing her brother. Eleanor, the youngest, and the one who was generally passed over by her elder siblings because of how close a relationship they had, obediently hung back a little, waiting for Frances to finish greeting their elder brother so that she could take her turn. Knowing what it felt like to be the youngest, I pulled my arm gently from Henry's, and walked over to her._

_We gazed at each other for one long moment, before exclaiming simultaneously "Eleanor! Sister!" and falling into each other's arms, bursting into peals of laughter as we did so._

_Sir Charles and the Duchess, my parents-in-law, came out into the yard, blinking in the dawn light with surprise._

"_Henry? My son, what are you doing here at this hour?" Mary, who'd grown up as a Princess of England, and a Tudor one at that, recovered first._

"_It's a bit of a long story. Can we call a family council for say, two hours before noon? I'll tell you then."_

"_Do we have that much time to spare?" I glanced at him, and he nodded._

"_His Majesty and your sister will hardly even be saddled up by then – and anyway, whether we do or not, we'll have to take it. We need to rest. I'm exhausted, and honestly, my sweet, you look as though you're about to faint."_

"_Right, well... Henry, if you'd like to bed down in your old room, it's always kept ready for you, and Eleanor, if you don't mind sharing a bedchamber with my daughters -" my mother-in-law began, but Henry interrupted her._

"_Eleanor and I are man and wife, mother. We ought to share-"_

"_Oh Henry, it doesn't matter. I couldn't care less where I sleep. All I want right now is a bed with clean sheets and soft pillows." I interjected, cutting him off sharply. "With the girls is fine, my lady."_

"_Come along then!" Frances, having got over the first flush of joy at seeing her brother, and resenting how contented I seemed to be in her little sister's company, grabbed my arm, and pulled me along in her wake determinedly. With a half-exasperated, half-apologetic smile at her sister Eleanor, who padded meekly behind us, I followed._

_****_

_A few hours later, slightly more refreshed, and in a clean gown of midnight blue damask, I was seated in a high-backed wooden chair with curved arms, taking part in my first ever Brandon Family Council. As predicted, the Duchess was doing everything within her power to persuade her husband not to allow the King within a mile of her gates as long as he kept my sister at his side instead of his rightful Queen, and what was more, he was weakening, only offering the most token of protests against her tirades. Suddenly, having exchanged a series of glances with my husband, I found myself on my feet._

"_My lady, I think you might be forgetting that the woman you so openly call King Henry's whore also happens to be my sister. For as long as you deny her a bed under your roof, you deny that I am your son's wife, and as such, your good and obedient daughter. If that is what you wish to do, then I am more than happy to oblige. Give me the word, and I shall be gone from this place within the hour. But I feel I must warn you, my husband will be riding at my side. We shall ride together to Tattershall, and we shall be more than happy to offer His Majesty and my sister accommodation there, shall we not, Henry?"_

"_We shall." Henry agreed quickly, scrambling to his feet as I looked to him for support. "We shall offer him a place to stay after his own sister has turned him away, and I am sure he will be grateful."_

"_So am I. He may even honour us – create Henry a Marquess or a Duke, and me a Marchioness or a Duchess. Who knows? Who knows what favour His Majesty might bestow upon if we please him this summer?" I reminded my father-in-law coolly, fixing my sapphire eyes upon his deep dark ones, and trying to outstare him._

_I managed it. Murmuring "Who knows indeed?" he turned from us, and looked at his wife. _

"_They're right, Mary, my dear. We'll have to let them come. Henry is your brother, after all, whoever he chooses to keep company with. Come, walk with me."_

_So saying, he offered his wife his arm, and bore her away to the gardens, whilst the rest of us (Frances, Eleanor, Henry, and myself) wandered down to the library to sit in the vacant window seats, books open but disregarded upon our laps, and talk about the impending royal visit._

_There was more for us to discuss as well. By this point, late into the July of 1531, and August just around the corner, I was almost three months pregnant, and, unlike the last time, when I hadn't been completely sure of it, I knew I was too. Eleanor and I discussed a wide range of subjects to do with impending motherhood (for since she had recently been betrothed to Henry Clifford, the Earl of Cumberland, the younger Brandon girl took a keen interest in such matters), until Frances, the bolder sister, refused to sit by and listen to any more of that sort of talk, switching the subject instead back to the royal visit._

"_Tell us of your sister, Eleanor. Is she indeed as beautiful as they say?" _

"_She is" I smiled, happy to be able to praise Anne so easily. "Creamy skin, smooth as marble, and jet black eyes that are like pieces of the midnight sky. Her hair, black as a raven's wing, tumbles past her waist when she wears it loose, and she's as witty as any of the court poets – and wittier than most."_

"_Forgive me, but I have heard it said – it is rumoured that she is a witch, that she holds the King by witchcraft. As her sister you must know. Is it true?"_

_In an instant, I was up, my book tumbling to the floor, as I strode across to the younger girl, and pinned her back against the cold window panes._

"_It is __**not **__true!" I hissed. "I don't know where you heard that, but I can tell you this – Anne is as terrified of sorcery as the rest of us. She would never dare use it on anybody, least of all His Majesty! She is no witch, and you__**, Lady**__ Frances, would do well to remember who you are talking to!" I sneered Frances's title, layering my voice with contempt, before thrusting her away from me, and stalking out of the library._

_Henry followed me._

"_Eleanor, wait. Listen to me. Please."_

_I whirled round on him furiously. "Listen to __**what,**__ Henry? That you too think my elder sister a witch?"_

"_No! I don't think that at all. You know I don't. Frances just doesn't take the time to think before she speaks. She's too impulsive for that. Please. Can't you go back in there and forgive her graciously? She's probably rueing her chosen topic of conversation right now. Please?"_

"_I'll never forgive her that! Never!"_

_Spitting the last sentence at my husband venomously, I turned and fled the hallway._

_****_

_Despite the tension between Frances and myself, we were both schooled well enough in courtly behaviour to make sure our guests didn't spot it, and we all had a very enjoyable few days with the King and my sister. When they left Bradgate, we left with them, Henry and I, and, in the November, we were both at Ely Place when the King took the surprise step of recalling Katherine to Court._

_Anne was livid!_

"_What is this?!" she snarled at King Henry, storming into his private chambers one night before supper. "Suddenly, after everything, after all that we've done together, you don't think I'm good enough to greet the dignitaries with you? Oh no! __**Katherine **__has to be at your side for that! __**Katherine!**__ My God, I thought we'd agreed that she was never your wife in the first place. We agreed on that years ago, Henry. When are you actually going to start treating her like you believe it?"_

"_After this one banquet, Anne, I swear it before God. But please, sweetheart, you must see that this was arranged months ago. I have to keep my word to the dignitaries. You must understand!" King Henry was desperate, pleading with my sister to see sense. To no avail._

"_I don't have to see anything! I don't even have to stay here! I could take my servants and ride for Hever at any time I liked! In fact, I think I will!" she yelled at him. King Henry looked close to tears as she raged._

"_No. No. Sweetheart, please. I'll do anything, just as long as you stay with me through this horror. Please."_

_Anne glared at him, sending him a look of absolute poison with her eyes – and then, unexpectedly, she melted, coming over to his chair, kneeling beside it. He looked up, and held out his arms, drawing her on to his lap, bending his head over her slight figure, raining kisses down into her dark hair._

"_Anything? You'll do anything?" she asked as she wound her arms around his muscular neck, her voice slightly choked with passion._

"_Anything, my love." he repeated huskily._

"_Then you're not to see or speak to the Queen throughout the entire ceremony. I don't care how you arrange it, but arrange it you must."_

"_I'll see to it, darling. I'll see to it."_

_****_

_See to it King Henry did. Although the banquet still went ahead, and Queen Katherine still came to Court, he entertained half the guests in one half of the room, and she the other half in the other, their seats were set up so that they were facing away from one another, and true to the King's word, they did not interact at all throughout the entire course of the evening._

_George could not believe Anne had done it; bent the King to her will to that extent, and over the next few weeks, he relived it in our conversations time and time again. It was during one such occasion, just after Christmas, when we were all in Anne's chambers admiring the rich gifts the King had showered upon us – a shirt with a collar of blackwork lace for Mary, a jewel-encrusted sword belt and scabbard for George, a room full of fabric swatches to be made up into gowns for Anne, and an emerald brooch and ring for me, when, as I raised my head to tell my brother once and for all to hold his tongue on the matter, that sudden stabs of pain knifed through my belly and lower back._

"_Ah!" I cried out in agony, and Anne rushed over to me. I gripped her hand tight as a second wave of pain washed over me, and she glanced up at our elder sister. Mary rose, put her embroidery aside, and came over, examining me closely with a skill born of having had two children of her own. Without even looking up, she issued orders to our siblings._

"_George, go for a midwife. Quickly! Anne, help me move Eleanor on to the bed. It's not the most ideal place for her to give birth, but as her lying-in chambers aren't scheduled to be ready for another two weeks, __**these**__ will have to be her lying-in chambers. And when we've done that, go and find Henry Brandon. This is his child – he needs to know about this."_

"_But – Mary, I'm barely seven and a half months pregnant. This can't be happening." I protested weakly, as my two sisters swept me up between them, and carried me across the room._

"_Eleanor, you can't control when a baby comes. By now the little things have minds of their own, and they decide themselves when they're ready to come into this world. This one's decided to come early. Now, rest while you can, sister. Trust me, you're going to need your strength."_

_****_

_Mary was right. Within an hour or two, my entire body felt as though it was being ripped in two as I pushed with all my might, forcing my baby out into the world. I didn't know how I was going to stand it. They told me later that she was an easy birth, but at the time, all I could think about was that, if the child didn't come soon, I would faint with pain and exhaustion._

_But when she did come, and Mary helped me to sit up one more time, and Anne placed the child in my arms, and I looked down into her captivating light blue eyes, all I knew was that it had all been worth it, and that, given the choice, I would do it all again, a thousand times over, just to be able to hold her in my arms and say she was mine._

_All of a sudden, there was a frantic knocking at the door, and Henry's voice came through the oak "Eleanor? What's happened? Is everything all right?" Anne and I glanced at each other. _

"_Oh, let him in, sister. I have someone to introduce to him after all." I laughed, tightening my arms around my tiny child. Anne went across to the door and wrenched it open, beaming at Henry as he pushed past her and came over to me hurriedly._

"_Well, Eleanor, what do you have to tell me? Do we have a son? An heir?"_

"_No. A daughter. And she's beautiful. Look at her." I showed Henry the infant girl I was cradling, and he dropped to his knees beside us both._

"_Oh, Eleanor, she's perfect! A real Boleyn beauty, just like her mother." Henry cupped his hand around our daughter's tiny head, and then looked up at me, meeting my gaze over the crown of her head. Then he opened his mouth and said words that were music to my ears; some of the gentlest, kindest, most beautiful words I've ever heard in my life_:_"Well, sweetheart, we have our little Duchess now. What are we going to call her?"_

**AN: And so ends another chapter. Read and Review! Oh by the way, I own nothing but Eleanor and her daughter. Tattershall Castle is a real Place, but it was the castle of the Lord Treasurer, not the Brandons, as it is in this story. It just looked like the kind of place a high-ranking noble would live, and it was in the right county, so I adapted its use to my own purposes. I've also pushed forward the date of Eleanor Brandon's betrothal to Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland - Hope nobody minds!  
**

**And last but definitely not least, a million thanks go to ****..xx for agreeing to beta-read this! Thank you ****so ****much!**


	17. Margaret Adela Brandon

_Chapter 17_

_Margaret Adela Brandon_

_I smiled up at Henry, and then back down at the delicate baby I held in my arms. I didn't know what we were going to call her, that was the trouble. I had a dozen or more names running around in my head, but no name I could think of seemed to convey to me the feeling of love I possessed for the small piece of heaven that was my daughter._

"_I don't know." I answered my husband at last, with a slightly nervously abashed giggle, looking anywhere but at him in my embarrassment._

"_What about Eleanor? I for one, sincerely hope that she grows up just like her mother, and I'm sure you'll agree with me, Henry." George, who had come in without warning, overheard my hesitant reply, and thought he would put in his own suggestion. I laughed up at my elder brother scornfully, tossing my head disdainfully._

"_I am not having my daughter named after me! The poor child's going to have a hard enough time in life as it is, with a father's surname like Brandon to live up to. She doesn't need to be saddled with the name of the finest Queen of England, Her Majesty Eleanor of Aquitaine – God rest her soul__ - as well, for heaven's sake!"_

"_Well, what about Anne then, for your sister?" Henry suggested, glancing up at Anne as she shut the bedroom door behind George, and came to sit on the bed beside me, smiling down at her new little niece. I glanced at Anne, at her dark captivating beauty, at her seductive eyes, which looked like hard chips of the midnight sky, and then back down at my sweetest daughter. Just at that moment, her tiny eyes opened sleepily, and, to my delight, they were the finest shade of liquid aquamarine, with just a hint of green to betray who her father was (for Henry's eyes were the most delicious of greens, a green that could bewitch any girl he chose.) thinking of that, I knew again how lucky I was that my husband had chosen to fall in love with me. Flashing him a beam of an adoring smile, I shook my head slightly. "She doesn't look much like Anne. And besides, an Anne Brandon, born of a Boleyn? I doubt the world could cope with that just yet. They're still in shock from the birth of the __**first **__Anne Boleyn." _

_Anne had the grace to chuckle as I teased her merrily, and then opened her mouth to say something, but Henry's gaze had already wandered to my eldest sister. I knew what he was about to say, and beat him to it. "No, not Mary. Sorry sister, but with the Princess that we're trying to brand a bastard being called Mary, I doubt it's a very good idea. Not even if it is the name of my mother in law." I added, suddenly remembering the name of my husband's mother, and wanting to make it clear that I had remembered that the suggestion came from both sides of the family, not just my own. Anne touched my shoulder then, drawing__ my attention to her as she sat beside me, looking radiantly lovely in the first flush of her aunthood._

"_Yes?"_

"_Mentioning the name Mary reminds me – the King has two sisters. Margaret, Dowager Queen of Scotland, is his sister too. Why not name the baby after her. It's a strong name after all. A Tudor name."_

"_Margaret. Margaret Brandon." I heard Henry whisper the name beside me, and, turning to look at him, I could see he was taken with it. So was I. Margaret Brandon was almost perfect for my infant daughter, who I was sure would become a strong-willed girl as she grew up. How could she not, with Anne as her aunt, future Queen and role model? Yes, Margaret Brandon was almost perfect. And yet…_

"_Margaret Adela Brandon" I murmured, hardly aware that I was speaking aloud. "Margaret Adela Brandon. That's it! Henry, let us name our daughter Margaret Adela Brandon. It's perfect!" I swung my head to face my husband, delighted with the name, but he looked more surprised than enthusisastic. "What? Don't you like it? I thought it suited her." I asked worriedly. Henry shook himself and tried to muster a smile for me._

"_It does… It does. It's __just; I didn't think you'd want to give your child two names, that's all."_

"_Why not? I know it's not the done thing here in England, but it's quite common in France, and with close relatives both having spent time in France, I thought it would be quite fitting for us to make use of the custom. And Adela means noble. With this little girl likely to become a countess when she's older -"_

"_A __**Marchioness**__, if I have anything to do with it."Anne broke in, placing a gentle hand on the baby's head where the child dozed in my arms. I held her gaze for a moment, trying to express all the love and gratitude I felt for her through my eyes, and then continued "I thought it would be perfect."_

"_Hmm. Oh, why not? If it pleases you, Eleanor, my love, then__ her name shall be Margaret Adela Brandon, and never mind what other people think. Now, can I hold this daughter of mine, please?"_

_Laughing softly, I laid Margaret in Henry's awaiting arms, and arranged her swaddling cloths carefully. Sitting back, leaning against Anne's shoulder to support myself, I watched the two people I loved most in the entire world bond for the first time, and my heart just melted. As I watched, Henry bent his head over our little daughter, and kissed her smooth forehead. He lifted his head, and met my eyes over the product of our love for each other, and, in that instant, with Anne's warm, loving strength behind me, Mary over by the window, seated in the window seat with her feet tucked under her, and George standing behind Henry, peering over his shoulder at my little girl, I knew there was no other place I wanted to be but right there, with my whole family around me._

**AN: Short Chapter, I know, but there's plenty of Great**** Matter action to come in the next few chapters, so I thought I'd let this one be nothing but fluff. Please Review after you read – I'm not putting my mind to the next chapter until I get at least 3 reviews for this one. You have been warned!**


	18. Enemies: Loss of the King's Chancellor

_Chapter 18_

_Enemies: The Loss of the King's Chancellor _

**January 1532**

_As the weeks went by, little Margaret grew strong and lusty, thriving upon the milk of her wet-nurse, Mistress Cecily Winters, who took her to Tattershall as soon as she reached the age of six weeks, which was when I emerged from my confinement. At first, I missed Margaret terribly; I had no-one to lavish my new urges of motherhood upon, after all, but after a time, whilst I missed her when I was alone, or when I saw the servant children playing in the yard around the kitchens on the rare occasions they had been released from their duties, for the most part, I was so wrapped up in my sister's fight to become Queen, that I had little time to think of anything else. _

_By now, Anne was lodged in the Queen's apartments, with over a hundred women of good birth attending her – almost as many as Queen Katherine herself had had, even in her heyday. I was among them, having been appointed one of her Ladies of the Bedchamber (our cousins Mary Wyatt and Margaret "Madge" Shelton being the other two, whilst our aunt, Elizabeth Wood, wife to our father's younger brother James, became Chief Lady of the Bedchamber. Anne would have preferred me to fulfil that role, but, being only sixteen myself, I was not considered old enough by Father and Uncle to be allowed to. Besides Anne having a household fit for a Queen, King Henry allowed her to dress herself as grandly as a Queen, and to usurp all the honours that should be the sole privilege of a reigning Queen Consort. For some of his companions, even those who had been his loyal friends right from the day he was crowned King, this was the final straw._

_Sir Thomas More, for instance. As we came out of Mass one frosty morning, near the end of the month, I happened to have to pass him and his servant in the passageway. I heard him say "This cannot go on." Curious as to what he meant, I invented an excuse not to return to Anne's rooms with the rest of her ladies, but lingered to hear what he was saying. Thank God I did!_

_He spoke of how he could not reconcile himself to the scandal King Henry was creating on the behalf of my sister Anne, and finished by saying "Now that Harry has created himself Head of the English Church, the divorce is a certainty, but I do not wish to be at Court when it occurs. I set my resignation as Chancellor before him this morning."_

_I did not wait to hear another word, but turned and fled back to my sister's rooms, pulling my skirts up so as not to trip on them. I flung the doors wide, not even waiting for the guard to do it for me, and looked wildly around for my sister, ignoring the curtsies her lowest maids swept me, and their murmurs of "My Lady Eleanor". I had to prepare Anne for this development in the "Great Matter" before she went to the King. I just prayed I was not already too late._

_To my relief, Anne was not with the King, but instead doing her embroidery in the window seat, chattering idly to Madge and our cousin Mary Howard, Uncle's eldest and only daughter. I hurried up, and, murmuring "Sister. We need to talk." laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and drew her into her bedchamber, shutting the door firmly behind us to discourage any would-be eavesdroppers._

"_What is it, Eleanor? You look like you've seen a ghost! Either that or had some very bad news, and I don't think I've seen you rush into my rooms like that since you were ten years old – the day you told me that Thomas Wyatt had angered the King over one of my trinkets." Anne asked, taking in my white face, and knowing that my less than decorous entrance had to mean something._

"_Thomas More's just resigned as Chancellor." I answered promptly. Anne stared at me in shock.  
_

"_You'll have to go to the King, and be gentle with him for heaven's sake. He'll need some comfort after this. It'll be a bitter blow for him."_

"_Yes, you're right. I must go." Anne muttered under her breath, tearing her silver dress off over her head, and swiftly changing it for a fresh one of dark green. Leaving her hair loose, even unbrushed in her haste to get to His Majesty, she signed to Madge, to Mary Howard, to Bridget Wingfield, and to Nan Saville, and went from the room, the four of them scurrying in her wake. I was not chosen to go with her, which surprised me – with the exception of Bridget, every lady in that foursome attending upon her had some connection with the Howards or the Boleyns, and I would have thought she would have wanted to make it a full five. Clearly not. _

_All of a sudden, however, Anne returned to speak to me briefly "Stay here, Eleanor. Tell George or Father where I've gone if they come looking."_

"_Of course. Now go, Anne. The king will have need of you." _

_Before I had even finished speaking, she was gone again._

_Chuckling slightly under my breath, I return to the book of French poetry I was reading, but before I had so much as finished a couple of stanzas, a page dressed in Suffolk livery appeared and told me that my father in law, the Duke had sent for me. Setting my book aside, and scribbling a note to my sister, I followed him to the Duke's rooms, where Sir Charles himself awaited me._

"_Father." I dipped him a curtsey, smiling up at him dutifully._

"_Eleanor. Have you heard that Thomas More has resigned as Chancellor?"_

"_I have. In fact, I have already told my sister." I replied. Sir Charles's eyes darkened._

"_Yes. That's what I thought. I heard you'd gone to your sister with the news. Did you not consider that, now that you've married our son and heir, your interests lie with us, the Brandon family, more than with your blood relatives, who are nothing more than the humble Boleyns, and have only been raised to their current position because of the love the King bears your sister?"_

"_I do realise it, my lord father." My reply was cool and courteous, there was no way he could fault me for it, and he knew it. Thumping the table, he snarled at me "Then you should have come to me first, not gone to your sister! Do you realise what a fool I looked when your Uncle knew, your Father, a mere Earl, and your brother, who is just a Viscount, knew, and I did not! You should have come to me!"_

"_I did not mean to make you look a fool, sir; I meant to soften my sister's heart towards you and yours. You must remember that being a Brandon by marriage does not change the fact that I was born Eleanor Boleyn. To me, my sister Anna-Maria is the most important woman on this earth. I serve God first, and then His Majesty, but then I serve her, as should you. She will be Queen someday soon, and then we will all have to kneel to her, whether we like it or not. She will be in a position to be gracious to those who helped her to the throne, and, if you do not hinder me when I serve her, which I do willingly in any case, the Brandons could be among those who can expect to reap some reward. Besides, first and foremost, she is my sister, and I love her dearly. She has been like a second mother to me, and I hope to repay her as best I can." I answered, head held high, as befitted a Boleyn and a Howard; a girl who would be sister to the Queen of England not very far in the future. My father in law scowled at me, but he knew I was right, and dismissed me with a wave of his hand, saying only "Remember that you are a Brandon girl now as much as a Howard, and I expect you to act like it."_

_****_

_I did remember it. Before the Court, before the King, I said nothing that would show anyone that I was more loyal to the Boleyns than the Brandons, but when George came home from his trip to visit our parents at Hever, and Anne came up with the idea of the four of us (Mary, her, George and I) going to dine at the Trevelyans in the City, I realised that I would have to stand by my sister no matter what it cost me – even if the price was my life._

_We wrapped up in our furs against the cold that night, the night we went to the Trevelyans hiding our fine gowns beneath them so that no-one could tell that we were from the Palace. I, with some odd sense of foreboding, borrowed the Brandon standard off one of my husband's old barges that now leaked in case of an emergency, stuffing it unceremoniously into the locker in the bow. Thank God I did!_

_Though we thought no-one would recognise us from the banks, someone saw us arriving – saw my brother George hold out his hand to Anne to help her from the boat, saw the wink of Anne's characteristic Boleyn pendant from underneath her furs, saw George go in to Lord Trevelyan's house with her on his arm and his distinctive flyaway dark hair escaping from under the confines of his hood as it so often did, and before we had even finished our meal, our host had to make us leave. Eight thousand people were marching through the streets to his house, cursing my sister. Eight thousand men and women! George, the hot-head of the family, suggested we stay and try to fight them off with what little resources we could muster, but Mary, seeing how white with fear Anne had gone, grabbed his arm, and pulled him along behind us as we fled for the river – not even stopping to fetch all our furs._

_We were only just in time. Even as Lord Trevelyan helped George cut the ropes to cast us off, we saw them round the corner of the street – a seemingly never-ending flood of them, all carrying daggers and torches, and all shouting "We'll not have the King's whore! No Nan for us! Down with Lady Bullen! Down with Nan! Down with the whore! Down with the witch! Down with the Whore!" over and over. Anne clung to me, almost weeping with terror, and George hissed at the boatmen "Get the standard down! Get something else in its place! __**Now**__!"_

_One of them fumbled to do his bidding, cutting the ropes that held the royal standard (as the King had been unable to come with us, he had allowed Anne to use his own barge to travel into London) with such haste that he actually dropped the standard overboard. Not pausing to think, not even letting go of Anne, who was crying openly by now, choking back her sobs of fear, burying her face against my shoulder, I pulled the Brandon standard from where I had hidden it earlier, and thrust it into his hand. "Never mind the royal standard! Let it sink! Get that up, and for God's sake, man, row! Row for your life – for all of our lives!"_

_Never before I had ordered someone around that arrogantly, not even now that I was a Countess, but fear makes one do strange things, and we were all in danger, grave danger. _

_It was that night that made me lose the last vestiges of my childhood innocence. As Anne and I clung together, Mary right beside us, something clicked inside me, and I realised that not even Anne, the sister I had idolised for so long, was invincible. People hated her, were marching against her, and she was terrified by it. She needed me to comfort her now just as much as I needed her to do the same for me. We clung together fiercely, holding on to one another as tightly as we could, all the way back to Greenwich, where we tumbled out on to the King's private jetty, faces white and waxy, our entire bodies shaking._

_We went straight up to bed, not even stopping to talk to our closest friends, Nan Saville, and Madge Shelton, and, for the first time in years, Anne and I slept in the same bed, arms locked around each other. We needed a security that could only be found in old traditions such as this one._

_****_

_Anne told King Henry in the morning, and he was furious, but as he could not exactly arrest all eight thousand who had marched against her, there was not much he could do._

_Besides, before long, we were facing far more worrying opponents than the common people – opponents who were not nobodies. Mary Percy nee Talbot, wife to Henry Percy, 6__th__ Earl of Northumberland, suddenly decided to petition Parliament for a divorce, claiming that her husband had been pre-contracted to Anne, and therefore had never been free to marry her in the first place. It was a perfectly legitimate petition – everyone who had been at Court back then knew that my sister had been madly in love with young Henry Percy, and that they had even talked of betrothing themselves to each other. Henry Percy was summoned to Court for a hearing, and, upon discovering his lodgings, Anne came into the bedchamber that I shared with my husband early one June morning, and shook me awake, whispering "Eleanor? Get up, sister. I have a mission for you."_

"_What? Anne – what – what in heaven's name -"_

"_Just get up. I'll wait outside."_

_Moaning drowsily, I slipped from my husband's warm bed – we had spent the best part of the night making love, as we so often did, and dragged on a gown of heavy blue taffeta. Only once I was at least half-way decent did I go out to join my sister, shaking my hair back out of my eyes and pinning my jewelled hood haphazardly in place as I did so. _

_Anne, who'd been pacing the antechamber nervously, beckoned me to her side. "Eleanor. Henry Percy's come to London. He's lodging at the Rose and Crown in Temple Bar. You have to ride to him, and beg him to deny our betrothal, for the sake of the love he once bore me. Please. I can't be seen to go there – begging like any other fallen woman. You have to go on my behalf."_

"_But Anne – how will I get out of the Palace without being seen? How will I know where to find him?"_

"_I've sent ahead. Your horse is saddled and waiting for you in the yard, and you're to ask for a Master Loyalte. Understand?"_

_I nodded, opening my mouth to speak, but Anne suddenly embraced me hard, and I could feel the tension in her, even as she pulled away, exclaiming "Then God go with you, little sister. Ride, Eleanor. Ride like the wind."_

_****_

_I did. I got there in under half an hour, and within five minutes of arriving, was being shown into a dreary little room, quite unlike any I expected an Earl to occupy. A man in his late twenties or perhaps early thirties turned as I entered, and I had to suppress a gasp. Henry Percy was seriously ill. His skin, rather than being a healthy rose-tinted white, was grey and ashen, and his eyes were sunken and bloodshot, and I could see he was fighting for breath even as he stood before me. Nevertheless, I could not afford to forget why I was here, and when he asked me "Who are you? Why have you come to me?" I was able to answer firmly, and quite without any hesitation "Eleanor Boleyn, my lord. Anne's sister." Then I crossed the room to his side, and fell upon my knees, gripping his hand between both of mine. _

"_I have come to you to beg you to tell the King that you never contracted yourself to my sister – that your wife is lying! Please! You must!"_

"_Why would I need to deny it? Everyone knows our betrothal was broken by Wolsey." he asked me, clearly confused._

"_Everyone except your wife! She swears you married Anne in secret and consummated the union. Whether it is true or not, I do not know, but for the sake of my sister – for the sake of her ambition to become Queen, you must swear that nothing ever happened between you – nothing save a spring flirtation! Please!"_

"_Rise, young Eleanor. I will deny such a thing ever happened, if that is what will please your sister. God knows I would do anything for her." Henry answered calmly, but still I was not satisfied. I remained on my knees. _

"_Promise me!"_

"_I promise. Now go back to your sister and tell her she has nothing to fear from me." Henry Percy assured me once more, pulling me to my feet as he spoke. He repeated "God knows I would do anything for Anne." and then kissed me lightly on the forehead. I should have pulled away; I knew I ought to, but somehow, this kiss, unchaste and unprecedented though it might have been, felt safe, as though it were my brother George kissing me goodnight or perhaps one of my sisters when they were in a particularly tender mood. _

_Smiling, I turned for the door. On the threshold, I checked, and looked back. It was on the tip of my tongue to offer Henry Percy a place at Court once more, or at the very least, a doctor to see about his health – the poor man evidently needed one, but at the last second, something in his manner stopped me. I decided that, as he had obliged me, I would oblige him and humour his pride for once. I ran down the stairs, and out into the open air._

_****_

_Two or three days later, Anne and I were watching King Henry take Parliament from the balcony, when they called Henry Percy to the stand. As the Archbishops of Canterbury and York swore him in, we watched with baited breath._

_We had no need to worry, however. Henry Percy held firm by his vow to me, and denied his betrothal to my sister not only once or even twice, but three times over, till even the King was satisfied. He stood down from the stand, and as he did so, he glanced up at the balcony. His eyes met first mine, then Anne's. I nodded to him and smiled in gratitude, but Anne did not. She did not need to. Delighted relief was clear for all to see in her face, and Henry knew that she was pleased with him for serving her well one final time. Thanks to him, she had seen off Mary Talbot, and her way to marriage and the crown seemed clear at last._

**Thanks for all the Reviews - they really make my day! Those of you who know Anne's story really well will know that I delayed her dining in the City and being marched on by the common people by three months, but that's because I wanted George and Eleanor to be able to go with her, and back in November, Eleanor was still heavily pregnant with her daughter Margaret, so it wouldn't have worked! Hope no one minds: Please R and R!**


	19. Lady Anne, Marquess of Pembroke

_Chapter 19_

_Lady Anne, Marquess of Pembroke_

"…_And then Henry Percy looked up at Anne and I and smiled. I nodded to him, and Anne just looked relieved." I finished, looking down the bed to where my husband, Henry Brandon, Earl of Lincoln was resting on his side, supporting himself on one elbow. He had just returned to Court after a trip to Lincoln to deal with some pressing matters on his father's behalf. He had gone the same day that I had ridden to Temple Bar to speak to Henry Percy, and had missed the session of Parliament that I had witnessed, so I had taken it upon myself to tell him of these new developments in the King's Great Matter._

"_It's done then. Anne's path to the throne is clear." Henry's voice was clear and matter-of-fact. I nodded._

"_Practically. The only thing is, Henry, King Henry will have to ennoble my sister in her own right someday soon. He can't be seen to marry an Earl's daughter while his present wife is still living – and she a Princess of Spain – not even if said Earl is an Earl twice over, and his youngest daughter is the daughter in law of the Duchess of Suffolk – the Princess Mary Rose Brandon nee Tudor." I explained, shifting on the pillows of our great bed to free up the muscles in my back._

"_King Henry will think of something, Eleanor." Henry reassured me. "And now, forget your sister for a while."_

"_How? She is the most captivating of us Boleyn girls, and has proved it a thousand times over." I retorted bluntly, but, as I glanced down the bed towards Henry, my eyes began to twinkle like stars, and he rolled over on to his stomach, and held out his arms._

"_Oh, I'm not so sure about that. You're the golden Boleyn girl. Everyone knows that. Your eyes are like sapphires."_

"_So are Anne's." I protested, but I was smiling the same smile I smiled every time Henry tried to make love to me – the smile only he could bring out of me. I knew it wouldn't be long before I lowered my defences completely._

"_Your hair is like a cloud of soft sunlight tumbling down your back. Your skin is as pale as the cream skimmed from the top of the milk, and your smile? When you smile, it's as if the sun has suddenly appeared from behind a cloud."_

_It was enough. I slid down the cool linen sheets, and into Henry's waiting arms. He rearranged himself so that he was lying on top of me, and caressed my face gently. I reached up and brushed his dark hair out of his eyes, thinking that I would never be able to enjoy anything more than I did this, that I would never tire of loving Lord Henry Arthur Brandon, loving him with a fierce, desperate passion that nothing could ever quench. I tilted my head up a little, and Henry, sensing my desire, kissed me full on the mouth._

"_You are my sun." he whispered huskily. "My own Lady Eleanor Margaret Brandon nee Boleyn, Countess of Lincoln, and Duchess of the Summer Sun."_

_****_

_Henry was right, too. King Henry did see to it that my sister was ennobled in her own right. I came back to Court in late August, having spent the previous month at Tattershall with my young daughter Margaret, to find Anne in her Privy Chamber, surrounded by seamstresses laden with bolts of fine fabrics._

"_Anne!" I dipped her a half-curtsy, and then kissed her warmly, inhaling the reassuringly familiar scent of her lavender and rose water perfumes as our skin touched. "What's all this in aid of, sister?"_

"_King Henry is taking me to Calais to October. He's going to present me to King Francis as the future Queen of England!"_

"_Oh, Anne, that's wonderful!" I exclaimed, embracing her in my delight. Forgetting her newly-exalted rank for a moment, she took my hands and danced me round the room, much as she had done when she had only just returned from France for the first time, when I was just a little girl of nine who idolised my sixteen year old sister with the whole of my heart, and not a young woman of 17, married, to an Earl no less, and with a small daughter of my own. I went with her, laughing out loud in a delicious moment of pure bliss._

_Then Anne pulled me to a window seat overlooking the wide green fields of Windsor and the two of us began to plan what I would wear in Calais too. I decided that a couple of new gowns, in the latest fashions, would be called for, and decided to have one made of emerald green velvet edged silk with cream satin petticoats - a grand enough gown in it's own right, but this one was to be embroidered with pearls as well – and another of apricot coloured taffeta, encrusted with small amethysts, and with plum brocade petticoats. _

_Anne then flashed me a wicked smile. "I never gave you a birthday present, did I sister?" she asked, and before I could reply, whipped out from behind her back a fashionable gown of burgundy coloured velvet, edged with wide strips of cloth of gold, embroidered with falcons in gold thread, and sporting lavish underskirts of silver damask. I gasped. It was almost an exact copy of the dress I had first fallen in love with when Anne and I unpacked her trunk together not long after she had come home from France – the one I had worn when she had called me "a veritable Princess – worthy of any Court."_

"_Anne! It's gorgeous! Thank you so much__!" I stroked the gown almost reverently, scarcely daring to believe that she really had given it to me. Anne shrugged carelessly. _

"_I can afford it. King Henry's just given me the manors of Kensington and Hanworth, not to mention lands in Wales. I'll get about a thousand pounds a year from them. And he's creating me Marquess of Pembroke. __**Marquess**__, Eleanor, not Marchioness. I shall hold the title in my own right. I shall be the richest and noblest woman in England. And then I shall be Queen. Queen of England, Ireland and France. And you shall be my sister. How will you like that, sweetheart?"_

_I beamed up at her innocently. "I shall like it very well indeed…Your Majesty." _

_****_

_Anne was ennobled as Marquess of Pembroke within the week. She wore a gown of crimson, and her long dark hair, as glossy and gorgeous as ever, was brushed until it shone, and then left to hang loose about her shoulders, as if she was a virgin on her wedding day._

_Mary and I carried her train between us and our cousin Mary Howard held the gold and silver coronet, which King Henry would place on Anne's head when the time came. _

_Anne curtsied three times as we went up the length of the room, and then knelt before the dais as the herald read out the proclamation. "It is the pleasure of our Sovereign Majesty, King Henry VIII, on this day, the first of September, in the twenty-third year of his reign, anno domini 1532, to create thee, Lady Anna-Maria Jane Boleyn, Marquess of Pembroke."_

_King Henry laid the coronet on my sister's dark head, and the mantle of ermine around her shoulders, and then Anne rose to receive the traditional kiss of congratulations and the patent of her new-found nobility._

_We went from there to hear Mass with the King, and then into the banqueting hall, where Anne sat at the King's left hand, beaming down upon the Court._

_I should have been envious of her – by all the laws of sisterhood, I should have been envious of her, but I could not be. I loved her too much for that. And besides, I was already a Countess, and I would be the Duchess of Suffolk when the time came. I would inherit the title from the King's sister herself. There weren't many girls of seventeen who could say that._

_And Anne, my own sister, would be Queen of England. Her son would be Prince of Wales. Any daughters of hers would be Princesses. The Howards would be the greatest family in the land. They would have risen so high they could never fall. What was there to be envious about?_

**AN: We're racing through 1532 - we're already into September! Next up - the trip to Calais. Hope you all like the Henry/Eleanor fluff - I didn't think there had been enough of that recently. R and R please!**


	20. Calais

_Chapter 20_

_Calais_

_After Anne's ennoblement, all our energies were devoted to planning for our trip to France, and w__e sailed for Calais within the month. We sailed with Anne and the King sharing the same boat, passing the hours out upon the same deck, sailing beneath the same sails as only a King and Queen could rightfully do. Anne, fresh in the glory of her new rank as Marquess of Pembroke, revelled in the short duration of our voyage, revelled in the brief interlude when she, and she alone, was the King's official Consort, and no-one could deny her any honour. _

_Once we landed, however, things were different. King Francis greeted King Henry cheerfully enough, it was true, but there was no lady to formally greet Anne, as there had been Queen Claude to greet Queen Katherine at the grand meeting back in 1520; the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Queen Claude had passed away since then, and King Francis's new wife, Queen Eleanor of France, was sister to the Emperor, and as such, a staunch supporter of my sister's rival to the right to call herself Queen of England, Queen Katherine of Aragon. We had known that that would be the case, but everyone had hoped that King Francis's sister, Marguerite, Duchess of Alencon, would have taken it upon herself to greet Anne instead. She was, after all, a keen Reformer, just like my sister, and had even had Anne in her household in Austria and the Netherlands when Anne was just a child of eight. None had hoped that she would remember the favour she had bestowed upon the gifted little Boleyn girl then, and extend the hand of friendship one last time, more than I had. However, I had not just hoped it for the sake of my sister. Anne had told me a thousand times how brilliant, how widely-read, how captivating the Duchess was, and I had hoped to get to meet the woman during this state visit, to at last set eyes on the lady who had influenced my sister's fabulous mind so much, who had raised my sister to have an interest in such generally masculine subjects such as reform and politics, despite what others might think of her for it, who had, in short, moulded my sister into the woman she was. To hear that Marguerite of Alencon was calling my sister's behaviour "the greatest scandal in all of Christendom" and refusing to meet with her was a keen blow. For all of us Boleyns._

_Anne raged over it in private, railing against the way of the world, and King Henry did all he could to placate her, as did the Governor of Calais, but, despite their reassurances that a suitably high-ranking lady would be found to greet my sister formally, i__n the end, all our father's ambassadorial pleas, entreaties, and even thinly veiled threats, came to naught. There was nothing King Henry could do but leave my sister in charge of the fort of Calais, and ride to meet King Francis alone. _

"_I'll bring him back to see you if I can, Anne. I swear it. The High King of France shall bow before my sweetheart and pay court to her yet." His Majesty whispered fiercely into my sister's jet-black curls, embracing her hard before he went to mount his horse. Anne took a jewel off from around her neck. "I am truly glad to hear it, Henry. Remind him that I will be gladly honoured to see him stand at my wedding. My wedding to the greatest King of England that any man or woman here has ever known." She pressed the trinket into his calloused palm. "Give his sister this from me. And Henry? Tell Duchess Marguerite that, scandal or not, I still think kindly of my time in her household and hope that we shall meet again one day." _

_Then she kissed him fondly, dipped a half-curtsy, and stepped back to watch as the King, his face alight with pride at my sister's new-found queenly dignity, tucked the jewel into his doublet pocket, ran his hand over it to make sure it was secure, then swung himself powerfully into the saddle of his great black hunter, touching his heels to the animal's sides only half a second later._

_As the dust he left behind him began to settle, I went across to my sister, and touched her arm. "What was that last bit about? The bit about Marguerite? She doesn't deserve the gift you're sending her, Anne, and you know __it. Not after how she's treated you. You know she doesn't."_

_Anne turned to me, black eyes dancing with mirth. "No. She doesn't deserve it, but I'm sending it to her anyway. I'm treating her with more courtesy than she is me. King Francis will have to make amends for this slight. He will have to come back with the King, and visit me here in Calais. You just wait, Eleanor. He will have to. His honour as a gentleman won't let him do anything else. He'll have to."_

_****_

_I viewed Anne's words sceptically at first, especially when King Henry did not return to us that day, or even that week. However, at the beginning of the last week of October 1532, a page came from Dunkirk to say that__, although King Francis could not stand at my sister's wedding to King Henry, he nevertheless warmly accepted the invitation that His Majesty King Henry had extended to him on the Lady Anne's behalf, and that His Majesty very much looked forward to seeing what had become of the beautiful young Boleyn he remembered from his early days as King. _

_Delighted with the news, Anne threw herself into planning a banquet in his honour. She was almost sleepless with all the planning she did, but it suited her. She looked prettier now than I had ever seen her, in her sumptuous gowns of velvet, satin, or even silk and her almost feverish colour high in her cheeks. She chose eleven ladies from those who attended her; myself, our sister Mary, our sister in law Jane Parker, our cousins Mary and Margaret Wyatt, our uncle's daughter and daughter in law, Mary and Frances Howard, our friend Nan Saville, her friend Bridget Wingfield, the King's niece by marriage, Honor Plantagenet and Lady Anne Parr, and set us to rehearsing a dance – a dance we would, so the rumour had it, dance in front of both the Kings, having broken into their banquet to do it. With Anne among us, we made a dozen – a dozen gorgeous young women glittering in our gowns of gold and ruby velvet, and our masks all encrusted with rubies. I could not wait!_

_****_

_The dance went off perfectly, and then, all of a sudden, we had danced all the steps that Anne had taught us. Puzzled, we stopped, ranged in a loose semi-circle, and glanced at each other. The music reached a crescendo as we waited with bated breath for someone to tell us what to do next. Anne had never told us to take off our masks. Nor had she taken off her own. I stole half a glance at her. She smiled confidently across at me, and then nodded up at the dais. King Henry had risen to his feet. He came down the steps towards us, and stepped up behind his niece, saying "Brother Francis, may I present to you the Lady Honor Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle?" _

_Honor sank into a breathless curtsy, and the King moved on to the next lady, tossing Honor's mask aside carelessly as he did so. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, knowing that I was the second last in line. Slowly he came towards me, introducing all of the ladies as he moved down behind them and took off their masks " - The Lady Anne Parr – Lady Bridget Wingfield – Lady Mary Carey – Lady Mary Howard -"_

_And then he was behind me. I felt his hands in my hair, untying the strings of my mask, and then it was gone, and his warm voice was saying "Lady Eleanor Brandon, Countess of Lincoln." A thrill went down my spine when I heard the King himself introducing me with my full title, but I was well-enough schooled in courtly behaviour to be able to keep my curtsy steady and graceful no matter what. And then, as I rose, I heard the King say "The Lady Anne Boleyn, Marquess of Pembroke", and looked across to see the King of France coming over to my sister and kissing her hand._

"_Enchante, Madame. You are as beautiful as ever, I see." King Francis whispered, and Anne laughed gaily as he paid court to her, and then beckoned Mary and me to her side._

"_Your Majesty is kind. You remember my sister Mary? Marie as you knew her when she was here last?"_

"_I do indeed, Mademoiselle Anne. She was ever the only lady who could rival you for beauty. Lady Marie." King Francis answered, kissing my oldest sister's hand in his seductive way. Anne scowled to see him flirting with our sister, and gestured to me almost sharply._

"_But I am not sure you have met my youngest sister? Lady Eleanor?"_

"_I have not. Another Boleyn beauty, I swear to God." King Francis kissed my hand, and I curtsied to him in return. Anne forced a laugh. "Yes, a beauty, but taken, Your Majesty. She is Countess of Lincoln now. Married to Lord Henry Brandon, and happily too."_

"_Oh__ I am desolate! Is this true?" the King of France asked me, and I nodded. "Henry Brandon is the only man who could ever rule my heart, my lord, though it pains me bitterly to have to disappoint you." I teased him in fluent French, before pulling away slightly, and turning to suggest to my sister that we have some more music. King Francis's open flattery made me uncomfortable; for all that I could answer with the smile of a Boleyn and the skill of a Howard._

_She took me up on the idea, and, to my relief, even prompted George to ask to be allowed to partner me in the first set before King Francis could do so instead._

_****_

_That night, to my surprise, Anne bathed, but before she had finished bathing, she dismissed all her ladies but me. Mary had vanished long before the dancing ended, and no-one could find her, so I was alone when Anne told me to brush out her long black curls, and weave them with strings of rubies set in links of gold. _

_Suddenly, as I tugged her gown back over her head, I realised what she was about to do._

"_You're going to him! My God, Anne, you're going to the King!" I froze, rubies spilling from my cupped hands, as the realisation hit me._

"_Well, I cannot keep saying no." Anne retorted, tension building in her as the moment approached._

"_But why not wait until you're wed? It cannot be long now, Anne? Surely?"_

"_No. I have his promise that we will be wed immediately upon our return to England. But sister, I have been driven mad by holding him at arm's length for so long. You wouldn't understand. You married the boy you desired before you had to keep him at bay for any length of time. I have had to keep a man hot for me for so long that, had I not had to do it myself, I scarcely would have believed it was possible. Now I don't just want the man. I physically need to have him inside me otherwise I swear I will lose my mind. Besides, this is the only way I can be sure of my position in Henry's heart. To be able to carry his child. I must do this. I must let him have me. Tonight. Before I lose my resolve any more. It must be tonight." she repeated, and then fell silent, watching absently as I wove the strings of gleaming gems into her dark hair expertly. Then she rose to her feet. I twitched the folds of her gown into place as they fell around her._

"_Do you want me to come with you?"_

"_No need, Eleanor. George is waiting to take me to him. But thank you."_

_Anne looked deep into my eyes for a moment, and then crushed me to her. I hugged her back, whispering "Don't worry. He loves you. How could he do anything but love you? You'll conceive his child, sister. I know it. I know it in my heart."_

_I felt her nod as I buried my face against the warmth of her shoulder, and then she released._

_With a final smile over her shoulder at me, which I did not hesitate to return, she went to the door, and was gone._


	21. A Gift for His Majesty

**Thanks to** **..xx for betaing this! I also have a tiny favour to ask - do you think we can make it to 100 reviews before I post the next chapter? Please? Pretty Please? I've only got seven reviews to go before I reach that magic number, and it really would make the best of Christmas Presents. Anyway, enjoy, and most of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!**

_Chapter 21 _

_A Gift for His Majesty_

_It was Christmas 1532, and Anne, once again, was at the centre of the Court. Masque after masque proclaimed her Queen of Peace, Queen of Winter, Queen of Christmas...every single title the Master of the Revels, who, coincidentally, happened to be our brother George, could make up for her, save for the one she really wanted – Queen of England, Ireland and France. _

_But even that was only a matter of time now, and everyone knew it, especially with the way the King was showering Anne with gifts, even giving her the pick of the Treasury at the Tower, as though she was a Princess of the Blood born and bred, as if she was equal in rank with his sister, my mother-in-law, the Lady Mary Brandon nee Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk._

_George gave me many a key role in the masques he planned too – I was the Angel of Good Will alongside Anne's Queen of Peace, the Duchess of Snow and Ice alongside her Queen of Winter, and even the Princess of Merriment alongside her Queen of Christmas. I adored it. Like my sister, I had a good sense of rhythm, a good, clear voice, and a tendency to enjoy being in the limelight, so all these key roles were only a chance for me to bask in the admiration of the Court. My sister-in-law, Frances Brandon, was at Court too, though, as she did not enjoy having to play second fiddle to my sister, she was annoyed at having to take orders from a Boleyn, even if he was the Master of the Revels._

_To George's credit, he did not seem to mind. He laughed it off with his usual easy grace, saying that with Anne's star risen so high, and ours risen with her, we were bound to have attracted enemies somewhere, and gave Frances a key role in a masque all the same – that of Anne's opponent, the Princess of Ice and Melancholy in the masque where Anne played the Queen of Christmas. I however, was slightly more worried. Frances was Sir Charles Brandon's favourite daughter, despite being his third, and if even she dared openly show her displeasure with our family, how long would it be before other people did too?_

_I discussed it with my husband, but he too was close to his sister, and he only said "Frances is like my mother. She's loyal to the Crown, fiercely loyal. She can't see that your sister is the best Queen Consort there could ever be for England, but we can limit her influence on my father for now, and when your sister is brought to bed, and delivers a son, well, believe me, she'll be the first person to be kneeling before your sister, swearing her fealty. I promise you that, because I know my sister, and I know full well that a Prince would change her opinion of yours in an instant." Henry snapped his fingers to show me how quickly Frances would become one of my sister's most loyal supporters, if Anne only gave the King a son, and then pulled me to him, embracing me warmly. I sighed, and allowed him to hold me tight, relaxing against his muscular chest._

"_But for now, put a smile on your face, Eleanor. We have to go in to present our gifts to the King and your sister any moment. Don't show them your concerns, no matter what they are." _

"_Anne is my sister!" I protested angrily. Henry caught my hand and hushed me quickly._

"_In private, yes. In public, no." he whispered hastily. "In public, she is the Lady Anne Rochford, Marquess of Pembroke, and the King's future bride, and you are Lady Eleanor Brandon, Countess of Lincoln, and you have to act like it. Now come on."_

_Henry gracefully slid my hand along his arm until it rested lightly upon his forearm, and turned towards the door. We entered the Great Hall behind my cousin, Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey and his betrothed, the Lady Frances de Vere, and proceeded to the dais, where my sister and the King sat side by side on ornate gold and silver thrones._

_There was the traditional exchange of Christmas greetings, and then Henry summoned a pageboy with an imperious jerk of his flaxen head, who ran up bearing the expensive gifts we had selected for our monarch and my sister – a belt studded with jewels for the King, and a necklace of finely beaten gold set with star sapphires for my sister. They thanked us warmly – Anne even rose to her feet to kiss us both graciously - and then invited us to stand beside them on the dais as they received the rest of their gifts from the other courtiers. _

_Between all the presentations, Anne beckoned me to lean down to her, and murmured into my ear "I have to speak to you alone, sister."_

"_My rooms. Tonight, after the banquet. Henry's going for a moonlight ride with some of the other young men. I'll be alone." I murmured softly, reminding her to keep a smile on her face as the next pair of courtiers, Sir Anthony Browne and his wife Alice, came forward to present their gifts to the King. She nodded slightly in agreement, and then dropped the subject completely._

_****_

_That night, I was seated alone by the fireside, having dismissed my maids for the night. My golden hair was loose and tumbling haphazardly down my back, and I was admiring the locket Henry had given me for Christmas – one of mother-of-pearl and amber and containing a portrait miniature of himself with our daughter Margaret, who was already a year old, and extremely pretty for her age. A swathe of rich conker brown velvet lay on my lap, for it was the gift Anne had given me and I was considering having a gown and hood made from it. His Majesty had presented me with a brooch of silver and jade, and I had already placed that reverently in my jewellery box. All of a sudden, there was a slight tap at the door, and Anne looked in._

"_Eleanor?" _

"_Anne. Come in. You're just in time. I'm trying to decide what kind of a gown I should have made from this."_

"_Give it here. Now stand up so I can see you." Anne ordered, surveying me critically, and holding the sumptuous fabric up against me as I stood before the mirror. A few moments later, she nodded, and pulled it away, motioning to me to sit down again._

"_I'd go for a tight bodice and a straight skirt. Show off your figure whilst you've got one. Encrust it with opals and diamonds. You'd look worthy to be any Queen's sister in a dress like that." she answered._

"_Perhaps. I shouldn't have another one made yet, though. It'll be too expensive for my Henry to pay for."_

"_I'll pay for it myself. You have to look worthy of a King, worthy of being royal – especially right now, right when I'm almost there, almost a Queen crowned and anointed." Anne replied, the hint of the French accent still strong in her voice, even after all these years, and I closed my eyes in bliss at the sound of it, sliding off my stool on to the floor, and laying my head in her lap._

"_But you wanted to speak to me. What is it?" I asked._

"_Well you see, little sister – are we quite alone here?" For once, Anne was the one not quite sure of herself, not quite in control of the situation, and I was the calm one. What a change it was from the days of my childhood, when my beloved sister had always been the one in charge, the self-assured one, the gracious one, no matter what. I nodded reassuringly._

"_We are, Anna-Maria. Quite alone, I promise you. Tell me what you want to tell me. No-one else will hear you, I promise."_

"_Eleanor, I've missed my course. Mary entertains the notion that I might be with child, but I want your opinion too. You've had a child of your own; what do you think?"_

"_Well, when's your next one due? Your next course, I mean?" I had to fight the urge to leap to my feet in excitement. So much hung on Anne getting herself with child that I scarcely dared breathe, just in case it was a false hope._

"_This week – and I haven't bled yet." Anne replied. Now I really did begin to allow myself hope of Mary's notion becoming reality. It was already Saturday – the week was almost over. Tilting my head back so that I could look up at her, I reached back with one hand to touch my sister's arm._

"_Anne, don't quote me on this, but, if you haven't bled by New Year's Day, I should begin to think of telling the King. From what you tell me, there's a very good chance that you might well be with child."_

_****_

_I watched Anne like a hawk for the remainder of the month. I watched the maids changing her bed linens too which was something I had never done before in my life. They were never stained – not one night passed where I had to shrug my shoulders and say to myself "Ah well. Not this month, then. Perhaps the next."_

_By New Year's Day, Anne was certainly with child. Over the last week, the two of us had secretly embroidered a christening robe - one of white French lace and embroidered with golden roses. Once we had finished it, I expected Anne to tell the King, but Anne kept her secret a day or two longer, waiting until all the excitement and festivities of celebrating the New Year had died down before suddenly saying, seemingly out of the blue "My God. I still have a gift for the King. How could I have forgotten to give it to him? Madge, would you be kind enough to go to his rooms and ask him if he has a minute to come and see me so that he can receive it?"_

"_Of course, my lady." Madge muttered quickly, rising from her seat by the fire to do Anne's bidding. Anne glanced at me as she left, and I dismissed the rest of her ladies too, telling them that Anne wished to see the King in private. They scurried out like a flock of chattering starlings in silk and satin, and I hurried to Anne's side. "Are you going to tell him?"_

_Anne nodded, smiling at me confidentially, and I burst into a fit of joyous laughter, which I hastily stifled as we heard the King's footsteps sounding in the passage outside. He came in, checked on the threshold at the sight of the empty room, and then knelt to kiss my sister's hand, even as the two of us rose in unison to drop into our curtsies to him._

"_Anne. My love. I came as quickly as I could. Lady Shelton said you wanted to see me? I hope nothing is amiss?"_

"_I did, Henry, but nothing is amiss. In fact, nothing has ever been better. I simply wanted to see you alone so as to be able to give you something. Something I hope you will treasure greatly." Anne flicked her hand to send Madge out of the room, and then turned to me. "Eleanor?"_

_It was all she needed to say. I laid the christening robe in her lap, and she picked it up and handed it to the King. "Happy New Year, Your Majesty."_

_For a moment, he could not make sense of it, and then he looked up – looked up to see my sister's enigmatic half-smile, and the shine of suppressed glee in my sapphire blue eyes as I watched him. _

_He could scarcely get the words out to ask her "Is it true? Are you -?"_

"_Carrying your child?" Anne asked confidently. "Yes, Henry, I am."_

_And then it sank in, and the King was out of his seat with a whoop of joy. He crushed Anne to him, murmuring a litany of words, all of them her name, punctuated with fervent whispers of thanks._

"_Anne – Anne – Thank God – Thank God – Anne…"_

_Without another word, I slipped from the room. There was no need to intrude on the King's joy, nor that of my sister. We Boleyns had just given the King the greatest gift he could ever have asked for, and he and my sister deserved to be able to enjoy their great happiness in peace. Better to leave them alone than to stay. Better to leave them alone in private informality. Better to leave them alone as a man and his sweetheart than to keep them a King and his favourite._


	22. A Midnight Marriage

_Chapter 22_

_A Midnight Marriage_

_King Henry was delighted with the news my sister had given him. __Gift after gift was showered upon us Boleyns – though we were not actually granted any new titles; those would come with the birth of a Prince, my father confidently assured us, already arrogantly sure that Anne would deliver His Majesty his longed-for son, barely two months into Anne's pregnancy. Save for our close family, the Court had not even been told, for the King had not yet married Anne; any child she carried would be recognised as naught but a bastard. A royal bastard, true, but a bastard nonetheless. That could not be allowed to happen. Anne had to have been lawfully wedded and bedded before the announcement of her pregnancy had to be made public, or else the precious Prince she carried would forever be regarded as being besmirched with the taint of bastardry. King Henry would never stand for that. His son had to be the rightful heir and nothing else. However, he was still, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, tied in union to Katherine – she was still insisting that she was the rightful Queen of England, France and Ireland. According to the Pope in Rome, he could not marry Anne without first having obtained an annulment, but that was taking forever, and the child growing within Anne's belly would not wait. The King knew it, but he did not know what to do about it, and one cold January morning, he stopped me as I went past his private rooms, carrying a book on theology that Anne had bade me return to its rightful owner, Archbishop Cranmer._

"_Lady Eleanor?"_

"_Yes, Sire?" I curtsied low, perhaps lower than I needed to, causing him to chuckle._

"_Rise, Lady Eleanor. I would not have you be so formal with your future brother. Now, step inside here one moment."_

"_Certainly." I took a few cautious steps into the lavishly decorated room, gazing around in awe. I had never, despite how he favoured my sister, been formally invited into the King's rooms and especially not alone. The sheer sumptuousness of my surroundings astonished even me, who had been raised at this Court ever since I was a little girl of nine._

_The King shut the door firmly behind me and set one of his guards to watch it with a gesture, before crossing the room, forcing me to trail uncertainly in his wake. What did he want from me? However much I racked my brains – my swift Boleyn brains, I couldn't for the life of me come up with a legitimate reason. Did he want me to take a message to my sister? No. He would have sent a page. Did he want me to amuse him? That was all very well, but I hoped to God my beauty wouldn't arouse him too much. I was only seventeen and a mere Countess. I wouldn't have been able to stop him from taking his pleasure if he had wanted it._

_Luckily, that was the last thing on his mind. He beckoned me to his side, and laid a kindly hand on my slim shoulder._

"_Lady Eleanor. You are the only one of Anne's ladies I can trust. You know that your sister is with child?"_

"_Aye, Sire, that she is, praise be to God." I murmured devoutly, crossing myself as I spoke. The King copied my actions quickly._

"_Praise be to God. But what am I to do? I have promised your sister I will marry, and if it were up to me, I would. I'd do it tomorrow. In the eyes of the Church, however, I am still married to Katherine. Your sister, and the child she carries in her belly, are nought but my mistress and coming bastard. Her boy will carry the name of Fitzroy. What good is that for England? What good is that for me?"_

_The King looked at me with desperation in his eyes. I gulped. I was not exactly a cunning politician – to be asked this sort of question was not on a Lady in Waiting's list of daily duties. I bowed my head, playing for time, as I thought furiously._

"_Sire, is England not an island? Why should we have to take orders from Rome, a city so far away overseas? Do not the greatest scholars of the age state that a King ought to be allowed to rule the Church in his own land?" I asked at last, as the faintest beginnings of an idea came to me. If I could use what I had learnt from Anne, if I could play the King right today, Anne could be Queen of England before the month was out. If I got it wrong, I would go down in disgrace, and the rest of the Boleyns and the Brandons would go down with me._

"_Stop it!" I ordered myself silently. "That's not going to happen." I hoped against hope that I was right. Otherwise the consequences would not even bear thinking about. I chanced a sideways glance at the King. He seemed to be thinking deeply._

"_Rule the church in my own land?"_

"_Aye, Sire, for who grants permission for marriages and annulments?"_

"_Clement." His voice was barely more than a whisper._

"_Exactly." My voice was soft, gentle and persuasive. To anyone who happened to be watching us, it would seem like I was simply suggesting a ride out in the cold clear weather, not heresy. "If you were Pope here, sire, why, then you could marry my sister without a second thought. Her son could be your Prince. You could have your Tudor heir. "_

_I curtsied, suddenly fearing I had gone too far – spoken too boldly. I rose from my obeisance, murmured "Think on it…my lord" and then turned and fled the room._

_**** _

_He did think on it. He thought rapidly on it. That very evening, Anne received a note bearing the royal seal and, when she broke it open and scanned its contents, her face went white, but then, almost in the same second, hope was leaping into her face – wild, almost unbridled joyful hope._

_She dismissed her ladies with a single word, calling me to her side._

"_Anne? What is it?"_

"_Look at this, Eleanor! The King – The King is summoning me to his private chapel at midnight tonight to marry me. To marry me! When we wake again in the morning, I'll be Queen! Queen, Eleanor! Queen!"_

_I gasped. I had certainly not expected my words to stir the King into action this soon. I was so surprised; I could hardly pay attention to what Anne was saying to me next._

"_You'll attend me tonight, won't you, sister? I want you to witness the wedding."_

"_Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world!" I leant over and hugged my sister impulsively, pulling her close. I knew only too well what Anne's rise in status would mean. One of us would be the monarch, one the subject. We would never be just plain sisters again._

_****_

_That night, I slipped from my husband's warm bed as the clock struck a quarter to twelve, pulling on a warm gown of heavy velvet. I ran quickly through the palace to my sister's rooms, where I found her standing before the fire with our cousin Madge Shelton and Nan Saville, gowned in dove grey watered silk._

"_Eleanor, thank God. You're here." Anne came forward, grasped my hands. I attempted a laugh. _

"_I told you I wouldn't miss it."_

_The four of us hurried down the passages of Whitehall Palace, keeping close to the shadows, and slipped into the King's private chapel through the side door. _

_The King was already waiting for us. "Anne, my beloved." He kissed her hand passionately. She looked searchingly into his face.__ "You have the witnesses?"_

"_Aye, and they are trustworthy. See for yourself." The King turned Anne around to face the altar, and from my position behind her, I caught sight of our brother George, Sir Henry Norris and Thomas Heneage standing there. Dr Rowland Lee was also there, in his position of officiating priest._

_I held Anne's train as our brother escorted her to the altar and then stood beside him to witness the union as first King Henry and then my sister Anne recited their vows in hushed but nonetheless steady voices. _

_The time seemed to flash by and, before I was quite ready for it, Dr. Lee was pronouncing the King and my sister man and wife and they were sharing a kiss to seal the union, turning their backs on the altar to face us. Nan, Madge and I dropped into simultaneous curtsies, deep, low and reverent, as low as befits a reigning King and Queen Consort, as the three men beside us bowed to Their Majesties._

_Anne came down and raised me up. I looked her daringly in the eye._

"_Congratulations…Your Majesty." I said softly, trying out her new title almost hesitantly._

_She nodded. "Well said, sister. Sign your name on the contract and then you may go. You'd better get back to bed before Henry wakes."_

_I inclined my head, swept her another curtsy, this one deeper still and then signed my name below that of my brother. _

_Throwing down the quill, I hurried out of the chapel and back to my bedchamber, trying desperately not to wake Henry as I slipped between the sheets. To no avail._

_He stirred and turned towards me, reaching for me._

"_Eleanor. You're like ice! Where have you been, sweetheart?"_

_I couldn't lie to him. "In the chapel."_

"_Chapel? At this hour? What were you doing there?"_

"_I- I- I could tell you, but then I'd probably have to kill you." I answered. Henry laughed._

"_Nice try. You're not getting out of it that easily. What were you doing in the chapel at this hour?"_

"_I – You've got to promise me you won't tell your father. Or anyone else for that matter."_

_Henry kissed me slowly, sending shivers of newly-awakened desire coursing through me. "Will that do instead of a verbal promise?"_

"_I suppose. All right, I was witnessing Anne's marriage to King Henry, if you really want to know."_

_Henry sat up quickly._

"_No! She's done it then? Married him?"_

"_Not even an hour ago. I've come straight from the chapel." I confirmed, trying desperately not to laugh with a mixture of delight in my sister's triumph and amusement at the disbelief on Henry's face._

"_They were off to the King's rooms together." I added enticingly. It worked. Henry turned to me, all thoughts of my sister's new marriage instantly gone from his head._

"_Let's leave them to their wedding night then. How about we have one of our own?"_

"_We've been married for years!" I protested. _

"_Let's call it a marriage night, then." Henry murmured, leaning over me. He began to kiss me over and over, more and more passionately, until at last I gave into the ache of my desire and pulled him down on top of me so that our bodies touched, enabling us to melt into each other fully. Suddenly, in a great rush of delight, I sensed him enter me and coaxed him further, crying out in bliss as he indulged his sensuality._

"_Henry! Henry!"_

"_I know, Eleanor, I know!" he answered hoarsely, exerting himself one more time before easing himself out of me and rolling away. As he broke the contact between us, I was stunned at the passion still within myself – I hadn't felt so passionate since the early days of our marriage, over two years earlier. I lay there, quivering, until I heard his breathing even out. Only then did I too allow myself to relax enough to drift off into an exhausted dreamless slumber._


	23. Anna Regina

**Now, normally, I have this beta-ed, but My Beta seems to be on holiday - or at least, she hasn't been near her fanfiction account in a week, so I decided to post it without it being betaed. Please excuse the mistakes, and Jenna? I'm sorry I posted this without your say-so. Send me a PM when you're around again, and we'll go back to our usual method. - Lady Eleanor Boleyn**

_Chapter 23_

_Anna Regina _

_**May 1533**_

_I was sitting with Anne in her private chambers, playing a game of cards with her, when our brother George threw the door open and ran in, gasping for breath. My head snapped up and I was about to berate him for spoiling the moment; it had been the first time I had felt close to Anne since she had married King Henry and I had been about to confide to her that I was with child again; that, God willing, my little daughter Margaret Adela Brandon would have a little brother or sister by the end of October, but even as I looked at him, the wild look in his eye caused the sharp words I had been about to say to die in my throat. Something was up, I just knew it._

_Anne knew it too. In an instant, she was on her feet, her gently rounded belly jutting out over her feet as she clapped her hands and cried "Mother, Mary, Eleanor – stay. The rest of you leave. I think I need to be alone with my family."_

"_Yes, Madam." The ladies chorused, curtsying and sweeping out past us, though Jane Parker shot me a look of poison from beneath her eyelids as she passed. In a way, I could understand her feelings – she had been George's wife for almost nine years, but not once in those nine years had she ever been fully viewed as one of the family; one of the Boleyns. She was not a part of our inner sanctum, not the way I was a part of the Brandon circle. I knew it hurt her, but she was so vile and spiteful that I honestly could not find it within myself to try and make things easier for her by extending a hand of friendship and inviting her to stay along with Mary, our mother and I. Rather, I was secretly glad to see her go with the rest._

_The door swung shut behind her, and in that moment, I forgot her, whirling round on my brother George and drawing as deep a breath as the tight strings of my stomacher, which was pulled flat against my gently rounded body to conceal the slight bulge of my pregnancy until I was ready to divulge it, would allow._

"_Well? What's going on?"_

"_Archbishop Cranmer's preparing to give a public speech in the Great Hall. Half the Court's already gathered there, but I came to tell you."_

_Anne went white and staggered at his words. I moved towards her, but Mother and Mary were already there, catching her gently between them and settling her back into her luxurious armchair. I stood beside her, one hand on the arm of her chair and spoke the words I knew she wanted to say, but dared not, lest she be disappointed._

"_You don't think - "_

"_It could be, couldn't it?" George glanced from me to Anne, from her to Mother, from Mother to Mary and then back to Anne again. "He's been investigating the matter for days now. This could be his judgement. Within hours, we could be the highest family in the land, save the King's own. Anna-Maria, you could be publicly proclaimed Queen."_

"_Queen Anne." Mary whispered, and I whispered it with her._

_Although Anne had been the King's wife for months now, a fact which had been made public on Easter Sunday the previous month, she had not yet been formally proclaimed Queen, because Katherine of Aragon still lived and still called herself Queen. For the last few days, Thomas Cranmer, newly created Archbishop of Canterbury following the death of Katherine's champion, Archbishop Warham, had been closeted with the King's other ministers, trying to come up with a reason to annul the King's first marriage once and for all. If he had succeeded…despite the danger it possessed to me and my unborn child – I was barely managing to breathe properly as it was – I held my breath at the thought of what it might mean, at the dizzying heights of power that my family and I might yet achieve._

"_We have to find out. We have to know for sure." Anne's voice broke into my thoughts and I nodded automatically, still not quite aware of what was going on around me._

_Thus I got an immense shock when George suddenly held out his arm to me and said "Might I have the pleasure of your company, sister?"_

_Startled, I slid my gaze to Anne, who laughed "Are you all right, Eleanor? Didn't you hear? I just asked you to attend Cranmer's speech with George in my stead. I don't feel like going out amongst the Court today, not with this little Prince growing inside me."_

_It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that I didn't feel like it either, when I suddenly remembered that nobody in the room knew that I was with child, so I couldn't use that excuse. Therefore I swallowed what I wanted to say and instead took George's arm, offering him a weak smile when he peered down at me searchingly._

"_I'm fine, don't worry. I'm tired, that's all."_

"_If you say so, Eleanor." He answered, guiding me down the shortest passage to the Great Hall. "You don't look quite yourself, though." he added. "Are you sure there isn't anything you want to tell me? I won't tell anyone else, I swear."_

_For a moment, I briefly considered telling him and then thought better of it. He worried too much about Anne and her current pregnancy as it was. I didn't need to add to those worries._

"_I'm sure, but thank you. I'll be fine."_

"_All right." George suddenly drew his arm from under my hand and slipped it, quick as a flash, around my waist, pulling me close and turning me to face him so that he could kiss me on the forehead. Surprised, but not displeased, I submitted to his tender caress before he pushed me away and held me out at arm's length, murmuring huskily "My God, you're not a little girl any more, are you? My baby sister. I used to call you Nora; do you remember that?"_

"_Yes, but George, what…?" my voice trailed off. Suddenly I didn't need to ask. The realisation that Anne could be hailed as Queen that very morning had hit us all hard, made us all take a proper look at our lives; as they used to be, as they were, and as they would be. Clearly, it was making George nostalgic for the happy days of childhood at Hever._

_Faced with this new side of my brother, I didn't know quite what to say and so I settled for linking my arm with his, saying "Come on. We'll miss the beginning of Cranmer's speech if we don't hurry."_

_He nodded silently, allowing me to pull him onward until we reached our destination, and then all chance of proper conversation was lost as we flung ourselves into the chattering, jostling melee of courtiers._

_I caught a glimpse of my husband and his father near the front of the crowd and steered my brother towards them – on a day such as this, it was vital that I show my loyalty to Henry's family as well as my own, no matter whether those two families got on or not. Thankfully, George quite liked my husband Henry and, if he didn't see eye to eye on my father-in-law the Duke, at least they had the sense to remain civil to one another in public, so they exchanged brief nods before we turned our attention to Archbishop Cranmer._

"_My Lords and Ladies, all of you know that I have, for the past few days, been looking into the validity of His Majesty's questionable union with the Spanish Princess Catalina de Aragon. My findings only confirm my earlier suspicious. Due to Her Highness's earlier carnal knowledge of His Majesty's elder brother Arthur, sadly late of this world, the union of Their Majesties is, and indeed always has been, incestuous and invalid._

_This means that the more recent union between His Majesty King Henry and the Lady Anne Boleyn, Marquess of Pembroke is both true and valid, and that the said Lady Anne is henceforth to be known as Her Majesty Queen Anne Boleyn of England, France and Ireland. Vivat Regina! Long live the Queen!"_

"_Long live the Queen!" I shouted, blending my voice with those of the people around me. I stole a glance to my left. My father-in-law's face was so tight and pinched that he looked as though he had a bitter taste in his mouth; as though he was sucking a lemon or some such thing. To my right, however, George was all joy and jubilation as he prepared to run to Anne and be the first to formally bend the knee to his new Queen. _

_Excusing myself from my husband's side with a murmur, I pelted after George._

_We flew back to Anne's rooms as though we had wings. We dashed in and, before the Guards at her door had even pulled the doors shut behind us, we had flung ourselves down in front of her, kneeling to our Queen side by side._

"_Vivat Anna! Vivat Anna Regina!" George gasped, struggling for breath. I did not even try to speak. I just took my sister's hand and pressed it fervently to my lips. Our mother's head snapped up and she fixed both George and I with her keen searching gaze "It is true? The king's first marriage is definitely invalid?"_

"_Aye, and there's more good news too. Mary, would you be so good as to loosen my gown? I cannot breathe a moment longer." I answered, deciding on the spur of the moment that the time had come to tell my family that I was pregnant. I felt my eldest sister's hands run over my back as she did as I asked of her, and then, receiving Anne's quick nod of approval, I stood up, breathing more easily than I had in weeks as the russet satin of my gown tumbled loose over the swell of my belly._

"_My God, Eleanor!" Anne exclaimed, forgetting her new rank and the need to be careful of her own pregnancy as she sprang out of her seat and caught hold of me. "How far along __**are**__ you?"_

"_Four months last week." I admitted, standing still so that Anne could put her hand on my stomach and feel the baby kicking._

"_And you never said? Oh Eleanor!" _

"_Everyone was so busy worrying about you and your Prince that I thought I'd keep this to myself. It wouldn't have made any difference whether you knew or not. Nobody would have really cared about a coming Brandon heir – not with a Tudor one on the way." I answered, glancing back over my shoulder at my eldest sister ashamedly. I knew it wasn't true, but it was the best answer I could come up with; it had been what I had told myself, after all._

"_Of course we would have cared! You're our little sister!" Mary cried, leaping up from the armchair she was sitting in and offering it to me. "Have you made any preparations yet?"_

_I shook my head as I sat down. George stooped to kiss me._

"_God bless you, Eleanor. And your child. I'll go and tell Father and Uncle Howard. Leave you mothers-to-be in council." He bowed briefly to Anne and strode from the room. I expected Anne to take him to task over not waiting for her to dismiss him from her presence, but she was so happy over having finally realised her heart's desire, and about my news, that she scarcely even noticed him leave._

_Mother curtsied and left as well, on her way to chastise Anne's other maids for being lax in honouring her as a Queen ought to be honoured no doubt – Mother could be very proud when it suited her to be so – and we three sisters sat in Anne's luxurious chambers discussing our coming children and our own childhoods until the King arrived to take his new Queen to lunch._

_****_

_The news of Anne's impending coronation as Queen of England travelled fast and more and more girls were sent to Court to try to win themselves a place in her household._

_Some Anne kept on; some she sent to serve me in my position as Countess of Lincoln; some she sent to wait on the Dowager Princess, as Katherine was now known: some she sent straight back home again, but one family she always found a place for, be it in her household or as one of my maids in waiting, was the Howards. _

_One morning I came back indoors after having flown my falcon, Astra, in the gardens, to find Anne talking to a young girl with a cascade of dark golden-brown curls and wide innocent eyes who I had never seen before. When she saw me, Anne beckoned me over._

"_Eleanor. Come here a moment. This is Katherine Howard, one of our Uncle Edmund's many daughters. Uncle Howard has asked that I find a place for her, but I have to hear audiences with the King any moment. Matthew Parker has just sworn her in, so may I leave it with you to instruct her in her duties?"_

"_Of course, Ma-Sister" I amended, as Anne glowered at me for acting too formally. Anne nodded gratefully and turned to Katherine. _

"_Katherine, this is my sister, the Lady Eleanor Brandon, Countess of Lincoln. She will see you settled in and instruct you in your duties."_

"_Yes, Your Majesty. My Lady Lincoln." Katherine curtsied deeply to Anne and then again, more shallowly to me and, if her curtsy was shaky, at least she had made the effort and greeted me in the proper manner too. Remembering how nervous I had been on the day that I had first been presented to the Dowager Princess Katherine, then the Queen – and __**I**__ had had my brother and sisters with me. I could not imagine what it must be like to have to go through the experience alone._

"_Rise, please, Katherine." As Anne went out to meet the King, a few of her maids scurrying behind her, I led the girl I had been given charge of into the chamber that she would share with another couple of Anne's Maids of Honour and directed the servants sweeping in there to unpack her things. Then I took her around Anne's rooms, explaining everything that she would have to do. At last we sank down on to two velvet stools in a corner. Katherine gazed around in bewilderment. I gave her a moment or two and then broke the silence._

"_Tell me a little about life at home, Katherine. It must be very different from here."_

"_It is. These rooms are so big, and so pretty! But what do you want me to tell you…my lady?" Poor Katherine was almost tripping over her words, she was so desperate to redeem herself for her first, instinctive reaction._

"_Firstly, drop the "my lady". We are cousins through my mother, after all. Eleanor will do perfectly well. Secondly, is Katherine your only name? Or is there another name you go by? One your family calls you perhaps? Katherine is, as you've probably guessed, not a very popular name around here." I glanced over towards the door Anne had left through only a few minutes earlier. Katherine guessed what I was thinking and giggled. "Well, my brother Charles calls me Kitty when I see him."_

"_Excellent. Kitty it is then. Now tell me, where did you live before you came to Court? Blickling?" Even as I spoke, I knew I was wrong, but I didn't know how else to start the conversation._

"_No, Horsham. I was a ward of the Dowager Duchess Agnes Tilney." Kitty made a face, and I sympathised. Our Uncle's Mother was, in the kindest terms, a witch. Growing up under her care could not have been fun._

_It took a little more effort on my part, but slowly but surely, Katherine, or rather Kitty, began to come out of her shell. She was a pretty lively girl once you got her talking and by the time we had to go to supper with the King, she and I were well on the way to becoming friends._

_Anne asked me about her as I stood brushing her hair before we both retired for the night. "What do you think of little Katherine, Eleanor?"_

_I paused with the brush halfway down Anne's jet black locks. "Kitty? I think she's pleasant enough. She's eager to learn and keen to please, at any rate. I'm slightly worried that she could prove a little vain at times, but she'll serve you well enough, I should think. But don't worry yourself about her now. You need to rest."_

"_So do you if it comes to that, __**Lady**__ Eleanor." Anne retorted teasingly, laying emphasis on my title to warn me that I was about to overstep the mark with my advice. Being the Queen's sister, even a favoured one, only allowed you a certain amount of informality. Still, she smiled at me in the looking glass as she said "Go. I'll call Madge in to do the rest. Go and look after yourself."_

_I nodded and laid down the brush. I curtsied, and was halfway to the door when Anne called after me. _

"_Oh that reminds me. I want to know what's become of my little niece. Have her brought to Court for my Coronation."_

_I froze. "Are you sure, Anne? She's not even two yet. It's awfully young for her to come to Court." I glanced back at my sister, meeting her eyes in the mirror. She nodded._

"_It would only be a brief appearance. I'm sure. Have her brought up from Tattershall."_

_****_

"_Henry, please! Do something!" I pleaded with my husband, tears in my eyes._

_He sighed and looked up from the papers he was studying. "It's a direct order from the Queen, Eleanor. We cannot disobey. You should be happy that Anne's calling her to Court so young. It's a mark of favour, you know."_

"_But she's so young! My Margaret. I don't want her to come to Court. Not yet. Who knows what she'll see, what she'll hear? Henry, you're Margaret's father. If anyone can countermand the order, it's you. Say she can't come."_

_Henry got up and came round his desk to lay a kindly hand on my shoulder._

"_Eleanor, I can't. Your sister is the Queen. If Anne's said that she wants Margaret here at Court for her Coronation, then Margaret will have to be here. I don't like it any more than you do, my love, I'm sorry. There's nothing I can do." _

_As he spoke, Henry pulled me into his arms. I clung to him and let the tears shining in my eyes fall, the tears of shock, horror and desperation. Safe behind the closed doors of our apartments, Henry kissed me and rocked me while I wept. He was right. There was nothing he could do. It just didn't seem fair – it didn't seem fair that I, Margaret's mother, couldn't choose the day that she made her first Court appearance, that Anne had chosen it for me. I stood there in my husband's arms, tears leaking from my eyes whilst my mind grappled with what had been done, and what would still have to be done. I cried until I had cleansed my heart._

_****_

"…It's a mark of favour, you know."_ Henry's words rang in my ears as I sat in Anne's rooms waiting for the coach which would bring my nineteen month old daughter and her nurse to Court, sewing idly at the shawl of dark blue velvet – so dark a blue that, at first glance, it might even be mistaken for purple – that I was making for my coming child, as I did so. The other ladies around me were also sewing, though most of them were either putting the finishing touches to Anne's coronation robes or making a tiny garment for the next Prince or Princess of England._

_The sound of hoof beats broke into my concentration. Setting my sewing aside, I flew to the window and then out of the room and down into the courtyard, just in time to see my little girl's nurse clamber out of the carriage, holding Margaret by the hand. Margaret was looking around eagerly, and when she caught sight of me, she strained to break free of her nurse in order to run to me._

"_Mama!"_

"_Margaret! How you've grown, my sweetheart!" Though I had only seen Margaret six weeks earlier, when Anne had allowed me to leave Court for a brief sojourn in Lincolnshire just after Easter, Margaret still seemed much larger than the tearful little girl I remembered leaving behind me upon my return to Court._

_I swept Margaret up into my arms, holding her close, breathing in her sweet baby smell, feeling the softness of her rosy skin. All at once, I no longer harboured any resentment towards Anne for ordering me to have Margaret brought to Court._

_On the contrary. I was thrilled to have my own little girl with me once more, nestling into my arms._

"_Come and take her cloak. I'll take her straight up to see the Queen." I instructed her nurse and the good woman complied, so, having twitched Margaret's soft grey dress into place and smoothed down her downy dark blonde hair with the flat of my hand, I strode back into the palace and up to Anne's rooms carrying her._

_Margaret babbled happily all the way there and I half listened to her as the guards let me in. Kitty, who had been sitting near the door, jumped up to meet me._

"_Eleanor! I wondered where you'd gone. Oh! Is this your daughter? She's an angel! Can I hold her? What's her name? How old is she? Can I hold her?"_

_I laughed delightedly at Kitty's stream of questions. "Yes, Kitty, this is little Margaret. She's nineteen months old and as to holding her, well, I want to take her in to see the Queen first. Come with me and maybe you can hold her whilst I talk to Anne."_

_Kitty happily agreed and fell into step beside me, cooing to Margaret and squealing joyfully when Margaret said something that sounded like her name "itti"_

"_Eleanor! She said my name!"_

_I smiled as Kitty turned to me to share her joy. "I know, I heard. She obviously likes you."_

_We had reached Anne's rooms by this point, so Kitty knocked whilst I repositioned Margaret in my arms, tightening my hold on her. Anne bade us enter and I dropped into an awkward curtsy, which was all that I could manage, given that I had my daughter held against my body as I sank to the floor._

"_Your Majesty."_

"_Eleanor. And this must be your little girl. Hello there. What's your name then, little one?" Anne got up and came over to me, reaching out to scoop Margaret up into her arms._

"_Careful, Your Majesty. She's heavy for her age. Don't overexert yourself." I scrambled up from my curtsy and went to support Anne in case she strained herself holding Margaret._

"_Don't fuss, Eleanor. I'll be fine. Sorry, darling, what's your name?"_

_Margaret giggled as she saw how I fell back when Anne scolded me. "Mar'a'et."_

"_Margaret, did you say? That's a pretty name, isn't it?" To ease my concern for her health, Anne carried Margaret over to a chair and sat down, holding her on her lap. "A pretty name for a pretty girl. Shall we see if we can find you a gift somewhere?"_

"'_ift! 'Es!" Margaret nodded enthusiastically and Anne laughed. "Oh, Eleanor, she's a treasure! Kitty, bring me the box that's under the window. I think there might be something in there that Margaret would like."_

"_Yes, Your Majesty." Kitty sprang up to fetch it, placing it on the chair next to Anne. I slipped over to stand behind Anne's chair, looking down at the pretty picture she made with my daughter on her lap. Anne leant over to the box and took out a carved wooden doll in a yellow dress which she gave to Margaret. "Here you are, sweetheart."_

"_Dolly!" Margaret clapped her hands gleefully and I, sensing somehow that the boundaries between us were as broken as they used to be when we were just newcomers to King Henry's Court and not a Queen and her sister, I touched Anne's shoulder to get her attention. "Thank you, Anne. You didn't have to give her that."_

"_Nonsense. She's a darling. Besides which, she's my niece. It's my job to spoil her. Now, leave her with me and go and get some fresh air in the gardens."_

_I gasped. My sister, who was seven years my senior, and happened to be the Queen of England, was offering to watch my little girl for the time being. I couldn't believe it!_

"_Anne, you can't! I mean, thank you, madam, but the King – he'd never allow it! Not even for you!"_

"_Do you think I cannot handle Henry? Do you not think Henry will let me do anything I want whilst I carry his son?!" Anne cried furiously, her sudden shout of rage causing Margaret to whimper. As if she had only just remembered that she held a toddler in her arms, Anne started and glanced down at Margaret's fair head. When she spoke again, it was more quietly, but also more regally. She ordered me as a Queen would order a courtier, not as a sister. "Leave the King to me, Lady Eleanor. Go and get some fresh air." I turned for the door and she softened, becoming the gently indulgent elder sister once more. "It'll be a long day tomorrow."_

"_For all of us." I thought, but having just roused Anne's sharp tongue once, I dared not argue with the definite note of dismissal in her voice. I fetched my cloak and went out to fly my falcon in the gardens. There was always something calming about watching her spread her wings and take off into the skies above my head._

_****_

_The following morning, I left Margaret still sleeping in our shared chambers and called my maid to dress me in a whisper. She dressed me in silver taffeta sewn with pearls and then I went into help Anne dress in her coronation robes of white and ivory silk velvet studded with opals and diamonds. When she woke, Margaret was carried in by Kitty so that Anne could lift her into her arms and receive a good luck kiss from her little niece._

_As the clock struck nine in the morning, Anne rode out from the Tower where, as tradition required, she and her household had spent the last couple of nights, to Westminster Abbey where she was to be crowned Queen. It should have been the best day of her life._

_Throughout the procession, however, the common people, stubborn in their love for Katherine and the Princess Mary, kept silent and scarcely any of them even bothered to doff their caps as Anne rode by in her golden litter, which was borne on the shoulders of six finely attired mounted horsemen. Anne pretended it didn't bother her, smiling bravely and waving to the people as a Queen-to-be should, but from my position in the silver litter behind her, I could see her becoming more and more tense the further we went._

_And then the crossbow bolt shot past her head, hitting the yeoman riding beside her litter. Anne's horses spooked and it was all their riders – King Henry's Master of Ceremonies among them – could do to hold them steady as a controlled amount of panic erupted around us. We were hurried on to Westminster Abbey instantly; no more stopping to watch pageants was allowed, no matter how carefully rehearsed they were._

_When we reached the Abbey however, it was as if the nightmare outside had never happened. Anne sat on her golden throne and Archbishop Cranmer took St Edward's Crown from its revered cushion of scarlet velvet and held it out over Anne's head as the King watched from his own throne. _

_All of a sudden, however, His Majesty held up a hand. "Wait."_

_There was a collective gasp from those present. My heart was in my mouth. Was King Henry, even now, having second thoughts? Was Anne not destined to be Queen after all, after all these years?_

_But no. King Henry took the glittering crown from Cranmer and tears of relief and disbelieving happiness sprang to my eyes as I realised that he intended to crown my sister by his own hand. _

"_With this_, _St. Edward's Crown, I do solemnly crown you Queen of England." King Henry gravely placed the crown on my sister's head, and I swiped the tears away with the back of my hand as Cranmer stepped forward to hand Anne the sceptre and the orb._

"_These are the two sceptres of the sovereign. Honour and grace be to our Queen Anne. May you prosper, go forward, and may you bear a new son of the King's blood. God save and God bless Your Majesty."_

_Then he turned on the dais to face us, the crowd, and repeated "God Save and God Bless our Queen Anne!"_

"_God Save and God Bless our Queen Anne!" Everyone in the Abbey, and there were hundreds of us, shouted it back at him in a full-throated roar as Anne rose from her throne to receive our acclaim._

_The tears of joy rolled down my cheeks as my sister stood there at the front of the Abbey and I made no attempt to stop them._

_We had done it. We'd reached the end of a road we had started out on seven years earlier and our Howard girl, our Boleyn girl, Anna-Maria Jane Boleyn, was God's anointed Queen._

_Queen Anne._

_Reine Anne._

_Anna Regina._

_The two sweetest words I had ever heard in any language ringing in my ears, I cupped my hand over my belly and turned to follow Anne out of the Abbey._


	24. Death of a Rose

_Chapter 24_

_Death of a Rose_

_One morni__ng during the last week of June, I was serving Anne in her rooms as I always did, helping her to plan for her confinement, which was now only mere weeks away, when there was a knock on the door. At an approving nod from Anne, Kitty sprang up to open it. She had a hurried conversation with someone and then came back into the room, a young page in red and grey livery following her. A Page in Brandon livery._

"_Your Majesty.__" The boy bowed beside Kitty, flushing to the very roots of his hair. I recognised him. It was Nicholas Brooke, one of the Baron of Cobham's sons and the newest of my father in law's pages. He'd only been at Court for a few weeks. He'd probably barely caught more than a glimpse of my sister before now; no wonder this was awkward for him. Anne, however, keen as ever to appear the gracious Queen, smiled kindly down upon him._

"_Good morning, my boy. What brings you here?"_

"_I- I carry a – message for – for Lady Eleanor – I mean a message for Lady Lincoln." Nicholas stammered, desperate to make a good impression but only managing to sound rather foolish. At last, Anne took pity on him and, nodding, beckoned to me. "Eleanor? This young man's here to see you. Take him into the next room, would you?"_

"_Yes, sister. Come along, Nicholas." I turned for the nearest chamber, Nicholas trailing in my wake. I shut the door behind us both and stood with my back to it, looking at him._

"_Right. What can I do for you, Nicholas?"_

"_My lady Lincoln, your husband the Earl is asking for you. He wants you to go to him in his chambers. Now, if possible." Nicholas gave a stiff little bow as he finished delivering his message and I nodded._

"_Certainly. If my sister can spare me then I shall go to him. Thank you for delivering the message, Nicholas. Take that for your trouble." I handed the boy a silver sixpence that I found in my pocket and, with round eyes big with gratitude, he mumbled his thanks and ran off as soon as I opened the door for him, scarcely remembering to bow to Anne as he passed her. I followed him as far as her seat and then knelt by her side. Treating Anne with more courtesy than I needed to was always bound to sweeten her mood and the sweeter the mood she was in, the more likely that it was that she'd agree to me slipping away from her ladies for a while._

"_Anne?"_

"_Yes Eleanor? What did the page want?"_

"_He had a message for me from Henry. Henry wants to see me in his chambers. Can I go to him?"_

"_You'd better. He is your husband, after all." Anne raised me from my knees with a swift hand gesture._

"_Thank you, Your Majesty." I nodded, calling Anne by her formal title for the benefit of any of her other ladies who might take it into their heads to listen, curtsied and went to the door._

_I hurried to my husband's rooms, threading my way through the warren of passages that made up Richmond Palace as swiftly and as skilfully as I had ever done it. Something in Nicholas's face had suggested that Henry was not just calling me to him because he wanted to see me. Something more important than our love for one another was happening – or had already._

_I opened the door to see my husband standing by his window, staring out at the gardens, a piece of crumpled parchment clutched tight in one hand. His whole body was taut with tension. I scarcely knew whether I should really announce myself, even though he'd asked for me._

"_You wanted to see me, Henry?"_

_He turned towards me, visibly relieved, though, for the first time that I could remember during our three year marriage, he did not smile at the sight of me. "Yes, Eleanor. Thank God you're here."_

_My heart sank at the tone of his voice. He'd never spoken to me that seriously before – never! I shut the door behind me and took a tentative step into the room. _

"_You look grave, my husband. What is it?"_

"_I've just received this letter from Christopher Sanburne, my father's steward at Bradgate. It appears my mother died three days ago."_

"_What? Your mother, dead? How?" I gasped. I may not have particularly liked my mother in law – I was too staunch a supporter of my sister for us to see eye to eye on many things – but I couldn't imagine life without her, or without my mother, for that matter. I wouldn't want to lose my mother even now. I could not imagine what Henry must be feeling as he answered me._

"_Consumption. Apparently she'd been sick for months." His voice was steady, but, as he turned fully to face me, I saw his eyes were brimming with tears. Without another word, I stepped forward and folded him into my arms, holding him tight.__ He broke down as I embraced him, burying his flaxen head into my shoulder and weeping piteously. I clasped him in my arms, rocking him gently as I tried to find words to comfort him. There were none that would suffice, of course, but I whispered them anyway, trying to show him that I grieved with him as a good wife should and that I would always be there for him, no matter what._

"_God rest her soul, Henry. May God rest her soul."_

_****_

_Though my father in law could not make the funeral, for his duties at Court kept him too busy, Henry and I were excused from Court for a few days so that we could attend. I was nearly seven months pregnant by then, for the coffin had lain in state at Westhorpe for close on a month, and my black satin gown felt almost uncomfortably tight over the swell of my belly, despite the extra panels that the skilled royal seamstresses had added to my new mourning gown, but then, no-one at all felt very comfortable that day._

_My mother in law was laid to rest in a state befitting a Princess of England – 38 young ladies gowned in black and carrying lighted candles, of which I was one and my sisters in law, Frances and Eleanor and the Duke's ward, Lady Catherine Brooke were three more__, preceded the coffin into the chapel and the choir who sang at her funeral was the finest in Suffolk. _

_But all of that was of little comfort to the three grieving children that the late Lady Mary Brandon, born Princess Mary Tudor of England, left behind her._

_As I stood beside Henry at the graveside, my face determinedly blank, I heard her fourteen year old daughter, the Lady Eleanor, the future Countess of Cumberland, weeping softly behind me._

_The priest continued with his sermon as though he could not hear her, though he himself was clearly battling his own tears – my mother in law had been a dearly loved landlady to those who knew and served her. "…Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…__Dear God, as we stand beside this open grave, in this silent city of the dead, we commit this body to the ground, and we commit the spirit, together with every sacred interest of our hearts, into your keeping, praying that you will deal graciously and mercifully with each of us, until we too shall come to our final resting place, through the riches of grace in Jesus our Lord. Amen"_

"_Amen." I answered him, before turning to my husband and whispering "I'm going to take Eleanor home. I think the burying of the casket could prove to be too much for her."_

_Henry nodded. "All right, my love. Frances and I will take over from here. Thank you for coming."_

_He kissed me briefly on the forehead and then I turned away from the still-open grave and went to my younger sister's side._

"_Eleanor? Come on. I'll take you home. You've done very well. Your mother would be proud of you."_

_I put my arm around the younger girl's shoulders and led her away from the graveside. As we climbed into the carriage awaiting us, there was a muffled thump from behind us. The Duchess of Suffolk's coffin had hit the bottom of the grave. I glanced over my shoulder, hoping Eleanor had not heard, but she had. As the carriage pulled away, she rested her head on my shoulder and burst into tears. _

_I put my arm around her and murmured soothingly. The poor girl was evidently distraught at the loss of her mother – especially given her age. Her marriage to Henry Clifford, Earl of Cumberland couldn't be far off. Given her rather tempestuous relationship with her elder sister, the Lady Frances, she couldn't rely on her for help. She would need a guiding hand in the months and years to come._

_In that moment, as I sat there trying to soothe her, I vowed that I would be that guiding hand as far as was possible. As far as was possible, I would be more than the Lady Eleanor Brandon, Queen Anne Boleyn's sister and the Countess of Lincoln. I would be almost like a secondary Duchess of Suffolk, a surrogate sister to the weeping girl I held in my arms. I swore it then and there, swore it upon my very soul._

_I would be a surrogate sister to the weeping girl I held in my arms._


	25. A Howard Princess and a Brandon Heir

_**AN: Here it is. The long-awaited Chapter 25. Excuse the different formatting - it was the only thing Document Manager would allow, strangely enough. And yes, I am aware that Amazing Grace wasn't around in the 1500s! I just chose to use it because it worked. Enjoy.**_

_Chapter 25_

_A Howard Princess and a Brandon heir _

_**7 **__**September 1533**_

_I woke up to the sound of distant screaming. Within a second, I was out of bed, struggling with the tight bodice of my gown. "Anne!" _

_Henry stirred as the single word tore itself from my throat. "What is it? Eleanor?"_

"_The baby. Anne's baby's coming!"_

_Without another word, I gave up on my gown and tossed it aside, pulling a satin bedcoat on over my shift instead before I whirled from the room, the need to be careful of my own pregnancy forgotten in the rush to get to my sister. _

_I crashed through the doors of Anne's lying in chambers without even so much as waiting for the guards to announce my presence. _

_Mary was standing by the door, and Kitty was with her, looking white and shaken. Of course, the poor girl's mother had died in childbirth when she was only little. Of course she wasn't comfortable with being in another woman's lying-in chambers – she thought the same might happen again. However, Anne needed calm, confident women surrounding her this morning. I could not afford to have Kitty panicking, so I flashed her a comforting smile and laid a hand on her shoulder._

"_Anne will be fine. Trust me, she's a Boleyn. She's strong, like me. I've had a child and I was just fine. Anne will be fine too. I promise." Then I turned to my elder sister and asked "How far along is she?"_

"_Not far. She's been asking for you though."_

"_All right. Has His Majesty been told?"_

"_Not yet." Mary shook her head. "We thought it might be a false alarm."_

_Despite the circumstances, I laughed shortly. "A false alarm? Listen to her scream, Marianne. I doubt very much it's a false alarm. His Majesty needs to be told that the Queen's gone into labour. He needs to know that his heir's on his way. Kitty…" I turned, suddenly aware that this was exactly the excuse I needed to get my younger cousin out of the room, just in case she did panic. "Would you like to be the one to inform His Majesty?"_

_Kitty's blue eyes went wide "Me? Are you sure?"_

_I smiled. "I can think of no-one better. You're our cousin. You're a Howard. He'll want to hear it from a Howard, so go."_

_Kitty stared at me for a moment longer, before I hissed "Go!" and dropping an awkward curtsy, she spun on her heel and fled the room, shouting with delighted laughter. _

_I almost called her back to scold her for her lack of decorum, but then decided against it. This was hardly a day for decorum. Dismissing Kitty from my mind, I caught Mary's sleeve and pulled her into Anne's chambers. _

"_Come on. Anne will need both her sisters today."_

_I was right. Anne lay back in her crumpled sheets, dark hair tumbling wild about her face, damp with sweat. I hurried to her side. "Anne? Are you all right? Is there anything I can get you? Anything I can do for you?"_

"_Can you do this for me?" Anne asked, panting for breath. I laughed. "Unfortunately not, sister! I would if I could, but I can't. Believe me though, it's worth it. Just think how happy the King's going to be when you call him in here and show him his son. It will be worth it. I'm going to stay with you Mary will stay with you too. We'll both be here for you and it'll all be worth it." I gripped Anne's hand gently, and then kissed her damp brow as it glistened with sweat. _

_Anne sighed with relief. "You're an angel straight from heaven, sister." She whispered, before sitting bolt upright and screaming with pain as another contraction gripped her. I allowed her to clench her hand on mine as tightly as she needed to, even though it hurt. She had done it for me; it was only fair that I do the same for her._

_We did however, have one moment where my heart nearly stopped, despite what I had said to Kitty. Anne, worn out and suffering from close, strong waves of contractions and from having to push as the birth neared, lost consciousness. Mary, who'd been taking her turn at Anne's bedside, shrieked._

_In a second, I was up from my seat in the corner, dashing across the room as fast as my own advanced pregnancy would allow. _

"_We're losing her! Mistress Porter, we're losing her!"_

"_Get her back to herself. Now! I'll take care of the child!"_

_I leaned across Anne. This was no time to try and wake her up gently. "Ah well, cruel to be kind -"_

_I slapped Anne sharply. "Oh no you don't, sister! God damn it, Anna-Maria, you __**will **__stay with me, do you hear me? You __**will**__ stay with me!"_

_Much to my relief, Anne's eyes fluttered open. "Eleanor, what -?"_

_I opened my mouth to answer, but at that moment, Anne was struck by another contraction and Mistress Porter cried "Now! I see the head crowning! Push, Your Majesty. One more push!"_

_Anne did as she was told and a small body slid out of her and into Mistress Porter's waiting hands. Anne slumped back against her pillows, exhausted by her ordeal, as Mistress Porter slapped the baby firmly on the back and, to everyone's relief, the piercing cry of a newborn rent the air._

"_What is it? Has the King his son? What is it?" Anne gasped, hardly able to speak, but desperate to know. Mistress Porter, however, took a breath before answering. "Your Majesty has given birth to a healthy baby girl. Perfect in every way." _

_I knew Mistress Porter was trying to put a brave face on it, but her words rang hollow. It could not be true. It just couldn't! That baby was meant to be a boy! It had to be! Our whole futures depended upon it! I felt Anne slump in my arms with the weight of her own disappointment, trying to hold back tears of rage and frustration, and heard Mary whisper "Oh God no. Please no. Not a girl. Anything but a girl."_

_I could not even speak, so great was the shock and disappointment. Gently disengaging Anne from my hold, I went over to the midwife, taking the newborn child into my own arms to see for myself, just to make sure she hadn't been mistaken. But no. The child was definitely a girl. A new Princess for England. A Howard Princess._

_As I handed her back to Mistress Porter to be swaddled, and then took her to her mother, wrapped in swaddling cloths, however, I glanced down at my new niece, taking her in for the first time and I instantly fell in love with her. She was just adorable. The soft downy fuzz on her head was decidedly coppery – she clearly had the King's colouring and her eyes, when she opened them were a crystal__ clear shade of sapphire blue. _

_I carried her to her mother. "Anne. Look at her. She's beautiful. A true Princess."_

"_The King needed a Prince, Eleanor! A Princess doesn't help him, does it? I promised him a son!" Anne didn't even look round at me as I stood there with her little girl in my arms, so great was her sense of failure. I knew, however that the moment that Anne looked at her daughter and held her, she would love her as fiercely as I loved my daughter Margaret. I had to persuade her to hold her child._

"_And you will give him a son. The next child will be a son. I know it, sister. This girl is perfect in every way. The Boleyn tradition is to have a girl first, but you will have a son. Look at Mary. Look at Mother. They both started with girls, but they both got perfect boys afterwards. You'll be the same, sister. This time next year, the King will have an heir in the cradle, an heir to play with his older sister, the Princess of England."_

"_Oh, give her to me." Anne sighed, struggling to sit up. Inwardly relieved, I laid her child into her outstretched arms, and, as I had hoped, Anne's face changed instantly as she saw her daughter with her own eyes. "Oh, she's beautiful!"_

"_Aye, that she is, Anne. What will you call her?" Mary asked, leaning over from the other side of the bed. "I know Henry wanted to call a boy Edward, but a girl? Did either of you think of that?"_

"_No. No, but I have the name already. I'll call her Elizabeth after the King's mother. Elizabeth Eleanor." Anne smiled down at her little girl and then up at me, and I stared at her in shock._

"_You'd name her for me?"_

"_Of course. You've been here for me right from the start – right from the day I first came home from France and was told I had to seduce the King. It's only right that I pay you back somehow, sister."_

"_Oh but Anne, you already do!" I exclaimed, but there was no more time to argue about it, for the King himself strode into the birthing chamber a moment later, calling out jovially "Well? How is my son?"_

_Anne blanched and flinched at the sound of his voice. Mary and I glanced at her and then up at the King, the father of the newborn Princess Elizabeth Eleanor Tudor. Mary rose to her feet and then put her hand on his arm. "Your Majesty. Might I have a word?"_

_She took him over to the window and murmured a few soft sentences into his ear. King Henry's shoulders tightened and he glanced over at my elder sister Anne, before__ thanking Mary and coming over to us._

"_Anne, my love."_

"_Your Majesty -" Anne started. He held up a hand to silence her._

"_If we can have a healthy daughter, we can have a healthy son. I'll visit you later when you're not so tired."_

_He pressed his lips to Anne's forehead in a perfunctory kiss and then left the room without even glancing at his new daughter. I rose and curtsied to him, trying not to show how his cool indifference rankled. Anne needed his support and love now more than ever. The Court would soon be laughing at her, for promising him a son and winning the throne for herself on the strength of that promise, but then failing to deliver. She needed to have the King beside her, fighting for her, not walking out on her without so much as a word of comfort or love._

_But even the King's cool indifference was better than our father's rage. He stormed into Anne's chamber as soon as he found out and lashed out at her._

"_You fool! You stupid, useless, jaded whore! That child had to be a boy! You knew it had to be a boy! A boy would have made you safe, made us the highest family in the land! What good is a girl – even if she is a royal girl? You fool!"_

"_Father!" The sharp cry startled me as it tore through the room, and then I realised with shock that it had come from me; that I was on my feet. "That is no way to talk to your Queen!"_

"_She promised the King a son, Eleanor! You know Henry; you know what he's like with people who break their promises! She had to give him a son, but she didn't! She's broken her promise and given him a girl!"_

"_She did everything she could! God, Father, you know she did everything she could. Women can't control the genders of their children, you know. If we could, we'd all have boys. Every time! As it is, a beautiful healthy girl is more than the Dowager Princess managed the first time round and you know it. Now get out." _

"_Get out? Who are you to tell me to get out of the Queen's lying-in chambers, __**daughter**__? I am the Earl of Wiltshire and Ormonde as well as being the Queen's father."_

"_And I am the Queen's sister, the Countess of Lincoln and the future Duchess of Suffolk. Get __**out**__!"_

"_Eleanor! Please…calm down." Mary came around behind me and pulled me into her arms as Father snarled at Anne "You'd better get back into the King's bed fast, Your Grace, and you'd better get yourself with child and that child had __**better **__be a boy before striding from the room angrily. "You need to think of your own child. All this stress…you need to leave Court, sister." _

"_I can't leave Anne!" I protested._

"_Yes, you can. I'll stay with her. I'll look after her, but you need to leave Court, for the sake of your child. Please. Let me talk to Henry. Let me get you out of here."_

"_Not until after the christening, Mary. I'll go if I must, but not until after the christening."_

"_Good." Anne's voice startled both us other Boleyn girls as she lay in her bed, cradling her infant Princess. "I want you here for that, Eleanor. I want you to be Elizabeth's godmother."_

_

* * *

_

_I was. Archbishop Cranmer was Elizabeth's godfather and my aunt the Duchess of Norfolk was her other godmother, and the one who held Elizabeth at the font and as we carried her out of the chapel and to her mother, the heralds proclaiming __"May God in his infinite goodness send a long and prosperous life to the high and mighty Princess of England Elizabeth" as we did so, but I did not care. Anne had made the gesture and I was grateful. I swore to myself then that if I had another girl of my own, I would name her Anne, for my Queen and sister. Anne deserved no less._

_

* * *

_

_As it was, though, I didn't yet know what I was going to have. The day after Elizabeth's christening, I left Court with Anne's blessing to go to Bradgate and have my child there. Henry helped me into the carriage, whispering "I love you. God go with you and keep you, sweetheart." before slamming the door, stepping back and looking up at the coachman. "Drive as carefully as you can, do you hear me, man? My wife is the greatest treasure I have and she is carrying my heir. I do not want her harmed."_

"_Understood, Lord Lincoln. The Lady Eleanor is safe with me." the coachmen answered before bowing and cracking his whip to urge the horses forward._

_The journey was not a pleasant one – I had really left it far too late in my pregnancy to travel, and every jolt sent my heart into my mouth, worrying that it would trigger an early delivery which could only result in one thing- a miscarriage or perhaps a stillbirth, but in either case, heartbreak for me._

_However, by some miracle; by God's grace and the Boleyn luck, I made it to Bradgate in one piece with my child still inside me. I was not taking any more chances though. I took straight to my lying-in chamber almost the moment I arrived, only pausing to eat a large meal with my sisters, Frances and Eleanor Brandon whilst the servants prepared my suite of rooms. _

_Frances watched me then, a strange sort of triumph gleaming in her dark eyes, but it wasn't until a few days later, when she visited me in my lying-in chambers, that she chose to breach the subject with me._

_We had been talking easily, all three of us Brandon girls, but then Eleanor decided to go and see to some detail of the housekeeping with her father's steward – she had taken over said role since her mother's death three months earlier - and left. Frances got up to follow her but before she reached the door she turned back to me and said "Well, let's hope you're better at giving my brother an heir than your sister seems to be at giving the King one."_

"_What do you mean? Frances, what do you mean?" My voice was hard as I called the younger girl back to my bedside._

"_You know what I mean. Anne's failed to produce a son. The whole of Christendom is laughing at the King. He moved Heaven and Earth to get that commoner as his wife and what does he have to show for it? Another girl, who can't even inherit anyway."_

"_The commoner you talk of so scathingly happens to be God's anointed Queen, Frances. I'd watch what you say." I hissed, furious on my sister's behalf._

"_And your sister. That's the only reason you defend her. You know I'm right, really. You know she's made the King look ridiculous. You know she'll never have a son. You only defend her because of the blood tie between you. God, when I think of you coming here, newly married to Henry and swanning around with your bold Boleyn arrogance, I could almost laugh! The Boleyns clearly aren't the be all and end all of England after all."_

"_Get out. My sister is England's Queen and she will be mother to the Prince of Wales. When I tell her of this –"_

"_She'll what?" Frances snorted "Have me thrown in the Tower? I think not! I am the daughter of the Duke of Suffolk, the King's closest friend. She cannot move against me."_

"_You might be surprised, Lady Frances." I scoffed. "I, after all, am her sister and mother to your brother's coming heir."_

"_If you can have a son at all. Your sister can't, so why should you be able to? You've miscarried once already."_

"_Get __**out**__!" I thrust myself up on my pillows. "Get out and don't come back. I don't want to see you again."_

"_I don't want to __**come**__ here again. I'll leave with pleasure." Frances spat. She spun on her heel and stalked from the room, slamming the door behind her. I listened to her footsteps retreating down the stairs and then flung myself back down on to my bed and sighed. Why did Frances and I always end up arguing? We had been the best of friends when we were younger – what had gone wrong?_

_

* * *

_

_Frances fulfilled her threat. I never saw her again in the weeks preceding my newest child's birth, but I can't say I particularly missed her. Eleanor Brandon was there whenever I needed her, as were all my servants, and my cousins Elizabeth and Gabriella Shelton, both of whom our uncle John Shelton allowed to travel to Bradgate to keep me company whilst I awaited the coming of my babe, and Henry travelled down from Court to stay indefinitely - partly because his father needed someone to keep an eye on his affairs and partly because he wanted to be there when I went into labour. _

_At last, on the 14__th__ of November 1533, almost three weeks later than I expected – Frances was beginning to suggest, rather snidely, that perhaps I had mistaken my time - my time came._

_This was no easy birth, not like Margaret's. I truly thought the pain would rip me apart, but I knew I could not give in. I had to give my child life or else die in the attempt, and I fought the waves of nausea and weakness that shook me between contractions. Eleanor stayed with me throughout it all, bless her, and she never once wavered, singing softly whenever it seemed I might succumb and making me focus on her – her shining sweet voice and nothing else as Gabriella and Elizabeth lent the servants and midwives all the assistance that they could. _

_Finally, at about sunset, I felt the pain cease and heard, as though through a thick mist or fog, the high-pitched wail of a newborn._

"_You've done it! Cousin Eleanor, you've done it!" Gabriella hurried forward to help me sit up as her sister Elizabeth carried my swaddled child across to me._

"_What is it? Do I have a boy or a girl?"_

"_A boy. Cousin, you have a healthy baby boy." Mary answered with a merry smile. Eleanor leaned over to catch a glimpse of her new nephew as Elizabeth laid him in my arms. I felt tears pricking at my eyelids as I held him. Eleanor seemed to know that no words would be adequate, for rather than trying to congratulate me, she burst into song._

"Amazing grace! How sweet the sound,  
That saved a wretch like me!  
I once was lost but now am found  
Was blind, but now I see.

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,  
And grace my fears relieved;  
How precious did that grace appear  
The hour I first believed!

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,  
We have already come;  
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,  
And grace will lead me home."

_I looked up at Gabriella. "Will you fetch Henry for me? He needs to see his son. Now."_

"_Of course, Cousin."_

_Gabriella was gone without another word and before long, Henry was standing in the doorway. "Eleanor. My love. Let me see my son."_

_He flew across the room and perched himself on the side of my bed, ignoring the bloodstained sheets completely, even though they were damp with sweat. Peering down at the bundle in my arms, he scrutinised every contour of our infant son's face, from the wisps of dark hair covering his scalp to the slight downturn of the corner of his mouth. I did the same, feeling, just as I had done with Margaret, that I could never tire of gazing upon my child. _

"_What are you going to name him?" Elizabeth, my young cousin, still shaken from having witnessed her first labour, came forward and stood behind Henry at his shoulder. I looked up at her and spoke quite without meaning to. "George, for my brother."_

"_Are you sure? Henry, are you going to allow this? Didn't Papa say that he wanted his first grandson to be named after him?" Eleanor spoke to her brother, not even glancing at me. Henry, however, never even took his eyes from our son's face as he answered. "And so he will be. He'll have two names, like his sister. Our son will be the Honourable George Charles Brandon, heir to the Earldom of Lincoln and the Dukedom of Suffolk."_

_There was a determined note to his voice that dared us to contradict him, but I had no intention of doing so. George Charles Brandon was perfect for our son and heir. Our Brandon heir. My sister might not have had a son, but she had had a Howard Princess, while I had had an heir. These cousins, Anne's Elizabeth and our George, were two of the most important children in England and I had no doubt that they'd live up to the legacy. After all, one was a Tudor, one was a Brandon, and they both had Boleyn blood. Howard Blood. Only God himself knew what they might achieve when they grew older. Only God himself._


	26. The Act of Succession

**AN: I can't believe it! 121**** reviews and counting! That's more than I ever thought I'd get. Thanks so much!**

**Disclaimer: If I did own the Tudors, let's just say history would look very, very different…**

_Chapter 26_

_The Act of Succession_

_**March 1534**_

_I was sitting reading a letter from Tattershall, which updated me on my daughter Margaret and my son George's progress, when my husband came into our shared chambers to dine with me. He bent quickly to kiss me. "Eleanor, my love. How are you this evening?" I beamed up at him. _

"_Very well, thank you, Henry. I've just received a letter from Tattershall."_

"_Oh? Is everything all right down there in Lincolnshire? How are the children?"_

"_They are well. Margaret is still a handful, but she seems to be enchanted by her little brother." I replied, smiling as I thought of my son. Our George was almost four months old by now, and according to his nursemaid, he was a lusty little boy who thrived more with every passing day. Henry nodded, and reached for my hand across the table as the servants came in with the first course of quail's eggs in aspic. "I'm glad to hear it. Send them my blessing when you next write, won't you?" _

"_Of course." I picked up my fork and toyed with my food as the silence between us stretched out, as it seemed to be wont to do these days. Sometimes I thought it was a pity that Henry and I weren't as besotted with each other as we once were, in the early days of our marriage, when we could scarcely bear to be out of each other's sight for even a single hour, but, as I kept telling myself, that was only to be expected. After all, we'd been married almost four years and we were no longer__ the teenaged sweethearts we used to be – true, I was only going to be 19 on my next birthday in June and Henry was to be 18 next week, but we were an Earl and a Countess and we had two young children dependant upon us now – we couldn't afford to be as wild and carefree as we used to be. _

_Besides, the silences were comfortable ones and even if Henry did have to leave me for a few hours or even a couple of days, it was always on Royal business or because of family affairs. I was as sure as could be that he wasn't seeking another woman, that he hadn't taken a mistress. The amount of passion that he put into our lovemaking assured me of that!_

_At last, Henry pushed away his plate and sighed, running his hand through his hair, tousling it in a way that could always make me shiver with anticipation and unfulfilled desire. I looked at him, knowing him inside out. He didn't need the ceremony of bowing servants carrying more food on gleaming platters. He needed to talk to me – talk to me alone as husband and wife and get whatever was bothering him off his chest._

_Sensing my maid was about to approach with the meat course, I raised my hand to stop her in her tracks, before gazing steadily at my husband. "Are you all right?"_

"_Aye. Aye, sweeting, I'm fine. I'm just tired. The Privy Council meeting this morning – it was in uproar." Henry broke off with another exhausted sigh. Getting up from my carved chair engraved with the Brandon arms, I walked around the table and came to stand behind his chair, placing my hands on the shoulders of his doublet and slowly kneading the muscles beneath the fabric. "Why? What happened?"_

_Henry tipped his head back against the back of the chair before answering. "King Henry put the new Act of Succession before us."_

"_What? What new Act of Succession?"_

"_The one declaring Princess Mary a bastard and Elizabeth the one true heiress to the throne of England. The one declaring your sister King Henry's one and only lawful wife and Queen. The one that goes alongside the Oath declaring His Majesty Supreme Head of the Church of England."_

"_He means to do it then? He really means to strip his pearl of her title?" I asked, unable to keep a tremor out of my voice. Yes, I was a Boleyn, yes, I loved my sister dearly and had done all I could to help her rise to her present position, and yes, I revelled in the power and privileges that our family now enjoyed as much as anyone, but even so, I couldn't help but pity Mary too. After all, she was only a year younger than I was, and we'd been friends when we were children. I wouldn't have wanted to be in her shoes, not for the world. To have had such a golden childhood, but then to have it all ripped away from her at the tender age of seventeen – I could scarcely fathom how the poor girl must be feeling._

"_I'm afraid so. Henry's asking every single one of his subjects to swear the Oath, and that includes my cousin."_

"_She'll never do it. Nor Katherine. You know she won't. They're both too stubborn. They've spent years fighting for Mary's rights to the Throne. They're not going to give up that easily."_

"_Mary will have to. If she doesn't, the King will never let her see her mother again. Or write to her." Henry's voice was grave and, despite myself, I exclaimed "He wouldn't! That's just cruel!" _

"_He would, Eleanor. You know he would. You know he's been threatening to keep them apart ever since he sent Mary to Hatfield in September. All he needed was a half-decent pretext, and not swearing the Oath is soon to be High Treason. High Treason, Eleanor. You know what that means as well as I do."_

_At that, I could no longer help myself. Letting my hands fall from Henry's shoulders and, repeating the words "High Treason" in a disbelieving whisper, I walked round his chair on shaking legs. Taking one look at my face, Henry pushed back his chair and pulled me on to his lap before my knees gave way. I let him hold me, my heart aching for the Princess Mary, now to be formally bastardised and styled Lady Mary. To be told she had to wait upon a sister seventeen years younger than herself, and that she could no longer see her mother, nor even write to her – well, her predicament brought tears to my eyes, tears I fought to keep from falling. I was a Boleyn, for God's sake. If Mary's star fell, my sister's rose and mine rose with her. I couldn't afford to pity the girl. _

_But I couldn't help it. The tears finally escaped my eyes and Henry had no choice but to glance at the door of our apartments to check it was firmly shut before soothing me in a gentle whisper. No one could know that the Countess of Lincoln was crying over the Princess Mary's fate, not when she was the Queen's sister, the very same Queen who was Mary's sworn enemy._

"_Eleanor. Look at me. Eleanor. There's nothing we can do. Not right now. What we have to do right now is go to the King tomorrow and swear that Oath – swear it with smiles on our faces. Once they're assured of our loyalty, then we can start to help Mary, but only then, all right? Just trust me. Will you do as I say?"_

"_Yes." I whispered. "If it helps both your cousin and my sister, then I will do it."_

_

* * *

_

"_Do you, Sir Henry Brandon, Earl of Lincoln, formally swear to recognise Anne Boleyn as England's one and only Queen Consort and the rights of her dearly beloved daughter, the Princess Elizabeth, to the throne of England, over those of the King's natural daughter, the bastard Lady Mary?"_

"_I do." Henry's voice was steady as he gazed the King's Chief Minister, Thomas Cromwell, firmly in the eye, always knowing that the King and my sister were watching him like a pair of glittering, bejewelled hawks._

"_And do you, Sir Henry Brandon, formally swear to recognise His Majesty King Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church of England?"_

"_I do." Henry's voice trembled slightly, but he kept his nerve and backed up his words with a stiff nod, before Cromwell sighed, pushed the Oath across the table so that my husband could sign it, and answered "Very well, Lord Lincoln. You may go. If Lady Lincoln could remain behind?"_

"_Of Course, Master Cromwell. Good day, Your Majesties." Henry dropped gallantly to one knee and then rose to leave, laying a cautionary hand on my shoulder to remind me of my duty to my sister, to the King, and to England as he passed. As the doors swung shut behind him, I moved forward to stand by the table set up beneath the dais, swooping down into a reverent curtsy, which I held as Cromwell started to ask me the same questions that he had just asked my husband._

"_Do you, Lady Eleanor Brandon, Countess of Lincoln, formally swear to recognise Anne Boleyn as England's one and only Queen Consort and the rights of her dearly beloved daughter, the Princess Elizabeth, to the throne of England, over those of the King's natural daughter, the bastard Lady Mary?"_

_I swallowed. My heart, or at least, most of it, knew what I had to say, what Anne deserved to hear me say, but, nevertheless, the tiniest part of me longed to refuse, to stand up for the rights of my childhood friend, the Princess Mary. She wouldn't sign this – not in a month of Sundays. Didn't I have the courage to emulate her and support her in her refusal? _

_No. I didn't, and I knew it. Anne had ruled my heart ever since I was nine; I would have walked over hot coals if she'd commanded it. God's Wounds! I would have thrown myself off the highest tower in the palace if she'd asked me. Forcing myself to ignore the pang of guilt it sent through me, I replied loudly, more loudly than I needed to. "I do."_

"_And do you, Lady Eleanor Brandon, formally swear to recognise His Majesty King Henry as the Supreme Head of the Church of England?"_

_A slight smile quirked my lips. Of course I swore. I had been the one to give him the idea in the first place – would I really go back on it now? Of course I swore. My head shot up and, like my husband before me, I stared Cromwell down as I answered in the affirmative. "I do so solemnly swear."_

"_Hmm. Very well, Lady Lincoln. If you would just sign here -" Cromwell pushed the scroll across the desk to me and I__ rose, took the quill offered to me by a bowing page and dipped it in the dark blue ink, drawing it across the paper in my looping signature __**Eleanor Brandon, Lady Lincoln**_

_Cromwell nodded his crisp approval as I swept another curtsy, much briefer this time, to Anne and the King in farewell and left the room, head spinning. If the King had pushed this Act through Parliament, if he had the Privy Council's approval, then he was setting himself up in direct competition with the Roman Catholic Church. He was blatantly defying any authority that the Pope had over him. There would be consequences when they heard of this in Rome. That much was a certainty. There just had to be._

_

* * *

_

_There were. His Holiness the Pope wrote to King Henry, ordering him to put my sister aside with all speed and return to his true wife, the __**Queen**__ Katherine of Aragon, as well as repealing his most recent Act of Parliament. If he did not, the Pope threatened, then he was to be excommunicated with immediate effect._

_King Henry was at dinner in full view of the Court when the messengers from Rome brought him this letter, and Henry slipped his hand on to my knee beneath the table as His Majesty read it, because I had gone so tense as I watched, preparing to spring up and protect my sister's interests if need be. "Don't worry. He'll never listen to the letter. Not now. The Pope's acted too late – far too late."_

_Even so, I could scarcely breathe. Then, all of a sudden, His Majesty leaped to his feet with a scornful laugh. "Ha! You can flee back to your decrepit master, the Bishop of Rome, and tell him it's too late. I am not a child to be threatened into obedience! He has chosen his way and I have chosen mine. I will stay with it whatever the cost." With that, he grabbed the Pope's missive and, in one swift movement, tore it savagely in two._

_I let out the breath I had been holding in a great low moan of relief and Henry leaned over to whisper. "You see? I told you? It'll be fine. Everything will be all right, love. Everything."_

_

* * *

_

_But would it? I didn't think so. Despite it all, I didn't think so. The fact of the matter was, Anne had become harder and harsher throughout the years that she had had to fight to keep the King's interest on her, and now, even though she could still be sweet when she wanted to be, she was definitely, without a doubt, not a woman to be angered. Which is precisely what my eldest sister, Mary, managed to do not much more than a month later. _

_I was playing cards with Anne in her private rooms with no one but our cousin Kitty watching us, when Mary, who had been spending the Easter week with her children, my niece and nephew Katherine and Henry, came into the room, and curtsied to Anne. "Your Majesty."_

"_Sister." Anne laid down her cards and went over to raise Mary from her obeisance, kissing her on both cheeks__. At first, she didn't notice the swell of Mary's gown, but I did. "Mary. You're with child. Congratulations, sister." I too crossed the room to kiss my sister and embrace her briefly. At my words, Anne stepped back, white with shock, to see her properly._

"_With child? Impossible. You're not married." she whispered, and Mary shook her head. "I am married, Your Grace. I married last month, when it became clear that I was to birth the man's child."_

"_So the child was conceived out of wedlock? Still…if the man can be trusted to keep quiet – if we could say it was an early birth…"Anne's voice trailed off as she realised something. "Wait. Who is the father?"_

_Mary bowed her head, her face flushing beetroot red. At last she muttered in shame "Sir William Stafford, the King's usher. We have a farm together near Rochford Hall."_

"_Sir William Stafford! An Usher? Oh, worse and worse!" Anne turned sharply away from our sister and paced up and down by the window. "You'll go from Court. Immediately. You two can go to Rochford and eat air for all I care! Just get out of my sight!"_

"_Anne…"_

"_No! You don't speak to me, Mary, and you certainly don't call me by my first name! It's Your Majesty to you, for you are no longer my sister. You are Lady Mary Stafford nee Carey, __**not**__ nee Boleyn!"_

"_Anne!" Mary spat, angry at being slighted by our sister like this. "I'll go from Court, of course, if you wish it, but what of my children? Katherine? My Katy? And little Henry? He's only eight, you know."_

_In an instant, Anne strode over to Mary and slapped her across the face._

"_Your children? Oh no, Mary. You gave up any right you had to those children the moment you came in here with a belly like a fat brood mare on you. Henry will go to school with Henry Norris's son, and as for Katy? I'll send her to live with some family I can __**really**__ trust. __**You'll**__ certainly never see her again." Tears sprang to Mary's eyes at the harsh tone of Anne's voice and she whispered brokenly "Please…Anne, if you ever loved me…please."_

"_No! Get out! Get out and don't come back!" Anne screamed, her voice rising high above Mary's quiet sobs of despair. Frantically, I signed to Kitty to come and help me. Between the two of us, we managed to get Mary out of the room and to the door of Anne's apartments without any further dramatics, but from the way Mary was trembling in my arms as I practically manhandled her across the room, I knew it had been a close run thing._

"_What's going on? Why's the Queen so angry? If Mary loves her husband and he's willing to acknowledge the child -"Kitty broke off as I glared at her. I took a breath to answer her and then realised just how young and innocent she still was. She shouldn't have had to see that. I gentled my tone slightly. "Sir William's a good man, Kitty, but he's not of high enough birth__ to be considered a suitable husband for the Queen's sister. Anne's angry because she'd hoped Mary would let her help her make a better marriage, that's all. That and the fact that Mary's pregnant. You know Anne's desperate to give the King a son. If this child's a boy, well, Mary and I will both have sons but the Queen won't. That's the main problem. Now, you get back to Anne. Let me deal with Mary."_

_Kitty agreed, clearly relieved, and hurried back into the room we had first been in, whilst I took Mary out into the corridor, and pulled her into my arms. "Oh Mary. I'm sorry."_

"_It's my children. That's all I want. Just to be allowed to see my children. Eleanor. That's all I want. You can understand that, can't you? How would you feel if you were suddenly told you couldn't see Margaret or George any more?"_

"_I won't be. I haven't disgraced the family." I retorted, but instantly regretted it as I saw Mary's face. "Sorry. That was out of order. I honestly can't tell you how I'd feel. Look…I can't change Anne's mind, not now, not yet, not while she's not with child, but I promise you this, sister. I'll take Katy to live with my son and daughter at Tattershall, and then, when things have calmed down a bit, I'll talk to Anne. I'll do my best for you. I promise."_

"_The thing is, Eleanor, I love him. I'd rather beg my bread in the streets with a good man like him at my side than be the greatest Queen in Christendom."_

_I groaned inwardly. This was why Mary had never become as skilled a courtier as Anne, George and I had – she wasn't tactful enough. Now that she'd said that, it was going to make my job of reconciling my sisters a hundred times harder. Still, I didn't complain, only exhaled slowly, and then hugged my sister again quickly. "I'll do my best for you, Marianne. I swear. Go. Go to Rochford and leave this to me."_

_Mary inclined her head, still pale with the shock and then squeezed my hand for a moment before hurrying away. I watched her out of sight, still stunned that Anne had actually been able to find it in her to banish our sister. I understood why she'd done it, of course. Father would have expected her to do nothing less, but still. As long as I served Anne, I had effectively severed all ties with Mary. As long as Anne was Queen, unless she forgave Mary, then I would never see my eldest sister again. Never. The idea was shocking, almost unbelievable. Never to see Mary, who had almost brought me up between the ages of five and nine – I couldn't believe it. I would never see her again. Never. Shaking my head in disbelief, I squared my shoulders and put Mary temporarily out of my mind. I had duties to attend to. Anne needed me more than Mary did – after all, Mary had her husband to look after her. With that thought in mind, I shut the door and then proceeded to follow Anne's example. Nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. Nothing. Nothing at all._


	27. My Lady Suffolk

**Sorry for the delay - I've been away. However, I do already have the drafts of the next few chapters written, so I hope I'll be able to speed up the updates at least a little. Enjoy and please review!**

_Chapter 27_

_My Lady Suffolk_

_One morning, not long after Anne had banished Mary from Court, I was woken by Henry shaking me._

"_Eleanor. Get up. Get up, my love."_

"_What?" I struggled into a sitting position, blinking sleepily. "Henry, you know perfectly well that I only got to bed at some unearthly hour last night. With all this talk of a betrothal for Princess Elizabeth, Anne's had us all stitching away at cloth of gold and purple velvet and tiny crystals and…" My voice trailed off and I rubbed my eyes, the very memory of the work making them ache._

_Henry saw the expression on my face and gently captured my hands in his. "I know, I know, darling, and I'd much rather let you sleep, but it's my father's wedding day remember. We have to be ready as soon as we possibly can. Especially as I'm supposed to be witnessing the wedding."_

"_Of course! I'm sorry!" Pulling away from Henry, I rolled out of bed and called for two of my maids, cursing myself for having forgotten. The Duke of Suffolk, was to be married that morning. His bride was Lady Catherine Brooke, daughter of the Princess Dowager's old friend, Maria de Salinas. As the Earl and Countess of Lincoln and the next Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, Henry and I were naturally expected to attend. I didn't really want to – I thought Anne was with child and wanted to know for sure, but I had to. So, instead of rising and going to her rooms to try and persuade her to tell me, I touched Henry's shoulder and murmured "Go. Wait outside. I'll join you as soon as I can." _

_As he left the room, I turned to my clothes press. My maids hurried in and laced me up into a gown of emerald green damask with amber petticoats. They also looped strings of diamonds, emeralds and rose pearls around my neck and wove countless jewels into my hair. By the time they had finished, I could scarcely hold my head up with the weight. However, I did look every inch a Countess of Lincoln, every inch the next Duchess of Suffolk, every inch a Queen's sister._

_Rising to my feet, I went out of the room and joined my husband, who started at the sight of me. "Eleanor! You'll eclipse them all!"_

"_I hope not. This is Catherine's day. I wouldn't want to outshine her." I replied, taking his arm. He chuckled, noting the undercurrent of tension in my voice._

"_You're still a Boleyn through and through, aren't you, sweetheart?"_

"_Of course. If they rise, I rise."_

"_But if they fall, you're still safe. A Brandon won't fall with the Howards."_

"_Unless your father finds a way to have our marriage annulled. I wouldn't put it past Catherine to persuade him to try. You know she hates my sister and me with her. Her mother's drilled __**that**__ into her." I answered grimly, my jaw set. Henry stifled a chuckle and stroked my cheek._

"_You know I'd never let that happen. You're my wife; the mother of my heir. I'll never let them separate us."_

"_You're only 18, Henry. If your father pushed – really pushed, I mean – could you really stand up to him?"_

"_I could. If it came to you and the children, I know I could. You mean more to me than anyone else in the world. Besides, Catherine's younger than either of us. Not to mention that your sister's with child. There's no way Catherine could turn anyone against her now."_

"_Keep your voice down!" I hissed. "I don't __**know**__ that Anne's with child! She hasn't told me a thing. I'm only guessing based on the way she's acting!"_

"_All right, all right! Assuming she is though, when do you think she'll take to her chamber?"_

"_October, I think, but for God's sake, don't tell anyone. Not even your father."_

_By now, we had reached the Chapel Royal, where the wedding was to take place. Henry nodded, and bore me into the church on his arm without another word._

_It was a fine ceremony, attended by the King and all the greatest Lords in the land. Catherine looked very fine in primrose yellow silk shot through with dark blue, though she barely looked more than a girl when she took her vows, though she was already 14. _

_However, the joy already lent to the day by the celebrations was only heightened when King Henry rose to his feet at the banquet and, after toasting the Duke and his new Duchess, cried out "And a toast to my most beloved wife, Queen Anne, who is currently carrying England's much needed Prince in her womb. God Save and God Bless the Queen!"_

_I chanced a glance at the dais as cheering broke out around me. Anne was smiling complacently, resting a hand on her belly as the Hall rang with our joyful shouts. As I looked at her, I could not help but feel a stab of envy that the King had found out first, that even I, Anne's own sister, hadn't found out before the multitudes. True, I had suspected long ago__ and the King was Anne's husband. He deserved to know, especially given how long he'd been waiting for his heir, but still…I was Anne's sister. I had been her confidante right from the start and I had stood by her ever since, no matter what. I was her most trusted Lady in Waiting; I had been present at her labour; I had defended her against our father's anger when she failed to deliver England a Prince; I had stood as Godmother to my little namesake, her daughter the Princess Elizabeth Eleanor Tudor. I would have thought that she would have at least told me that she was expecting, even if she told no one else._

_Then I took a deep breath to steady myself and curved my lips up into a practised courtier's smile. Forcing thoughts like those from my mind, I jumped up, hurrying across the ballroom as the musicians began to tune their instruments. My young sister in law, Lady Eleanor Brandon was at Court now, and I wanted to ensure that she was settling in._

_Sitting down beside her, I smiled at her gently. "How are you, Eleanor?"_

"_Well, thank you, sister, and yourself?"_

"_Fine." I wanted to say more, but Eleanor, zealously eager as ever, cut me off._

"_How are the children? Margaret? George? How are they?"_

"_They're very well, thank you, but it wasn't them I wanted to talk about, actually. It's you. I wanted to know how you were finding Court."_

"_It's - " Eleanor broke off, searching for the right words. "Not exactly what I expected. It's so lavish."_

"_What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely curious. No matter how long I spent at Court, I would never forget my first impression of the Court of England. It had been like stepping out of a gloomy cave into bright sunlight. Once I had adjusted, I had adored it, but I knew that others sometimes struggled._

"_Well…this may sound foolish, but I always assumed the Court was just like running a giant household, not this whirl of ritualised pleasure."_

"_But why think that? You're a Duke's daughter; a former companion to the daughter of the Princess Dowager. Just as I was. Surely you knew what a Court was like before you came here?"_

"_I suppose I did, in a way. But because my mother slipped into the role of a country Duchess so well…"Eleanor didn't finish her sentence. She couldn't. I nodded anyway._

"_I understand, Eleanor. Your mother – well, I can't pretend that we always saw eye to eye, but she was certainly a remarkable woman."_

"_She was. She was so beautiful – even when she was ill."_

_I'm sure she was. She was a true English Tudor Rose. It's only natural that you should miss her." I reached out to rest a hand on Eleanor's slim shoulder as I spoke._

"_I can't replace her, Eleanor, I know that. God knows, I'm not even going to try. But if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'll be here."_

"_But you're always with the Queen. She's your sister." Eleanor protested. I shook my head._

"_Not always, Eleanor. Not always. And anyway, you're my sister too. Even if I am with Anne, I'll make time for you. Just come to her rooms and ask for Lady Lincoln. I'll make time for you." I repeated, before getting up and smiling down at her._

_Whilst I walked away, I threw a cursory glance around the room, searching for my cousin Kitty. She wasn't hard to find. She was dancing and giggling with a group of her friends, accompanied by several young men. _

_Satisfied that she, at least, wouldn't need any guidance tonight, I made my way back to my husband. Curtsying to him, I held out my hand in a flash of bold Boleyn spirit. "Come, Henry, dance with me. We have a double celebration to enjoy now!"_

_For a moment, he hesitated, for, by convention, he should have been the one to ask me to dance, not vice versa. Then he laughed and jumped up, shaking his head wryly. He led me out to dance and, within moments, we had lost ourselves in the music._

_

* * *

_

_The next day, Anne called me over to her as we sat sewing at Elizabeth's betrothal clothes. "Eleanor. Come here a minute."_

"_Yes, Your Majesty?" Putting aside the tiny cap of cloth of gold embroidered with crystals that I was working on, which I must admit I did with some relief, I crossed the room to stand at her side._

"_The French Ambassadors are to dine with His Majesty and myself tonight."_

"_Oh, Anne! That's wonderful!" I exclaimed, forgetting in my joy to treat Anne with the courtesy due a Queen. However, since we were alone in the room, most of her other ladies either out in the gardens or riding out with His Majesty King Henry, she didn't reprimand me. She just nodded, continuing. "Yes. It made me think, though. If the betrothal does go ahead, Elizabeth will need a household worthy of the Duchess of Angouleme. She'll need companions to share her lessons. Would you – well, if I was asking as a sister to a sister and not as a Queen to a Countess, would you consider letting Margaret and George join her household? Not yet, of course, they're far too young, but… at some point in the future?"_

_I caught my breath. What Anne was offering would not only offer further proof of how high the Boleyns had risen and how close the two of us were, but also benefit Margaret and George. As the companions to the Prince and Princess of England __(I had no doubt that the baby in Anne's womb was a boy), they would learn from the very best tutors. They would receive a far better education than Henry and I could afford to give them. I would have been insane to refuse._

"_Of course I would! I'd be honoured, Anne."_

"_Good. From what I can remember of my niece, sister, Margaret would be an ornament to any schoolroom, even a royal one."_

_I bowed my head, flushing, as Anne looked at me. She had clearly been smitten by my little girl and I, for one, hoped things would continue to be that way._

_Then all of a sudden, I remembered my promise to my eldest sister, Mary. Taking a deep breath, I spoke before I could lose my nerve._

"_What about Mary's child?"_

"_Mary's child?" Instantly, Anne's voice grew hard, cold and distant. Nevertheless, I pressed on regardless. I knew there was no turning back._

"_Mary. Our__** sister**__, Anna-Maria. The only Boleyn who isn't here right now, glorying in our triumph, in your pregnancy, with the rest of us." _

_I could see Anne opening her mouth, ready to retort, but heedless of protocol, treating her like my sister rather than my sovereign, I carried on talking, determined, now that I had begun, to say my piece before Anne interrupted._

"_I know Mary disobeyed you, Anne. I know she married without your consent. I know she gave herself to a man before they were wed – and a man beneath her station at that. I know she is with child. But, for all that, can you not find it in your heart to forgive her? For the sake of her child, if nothing else? Please, Anne. The child's due in August, and it cannot help its parentage. Please. Don't vent your wrath at our sister on an innocent babe. Even if you can't, or won't, receive Mary at Court, at least acknowledge her as our sister. As a Boleyn. The Boleyns work together, remember? We need Mary. And she needs us. Do you know she can barely make ends meet at the moment? She and William Stafford won't be able to feed their child once it arrives unless someone intervenes…"I let my voice trail off, hoping to appeal to Anne's new maternal instincts. _

_To my relief, it worked. Anne sighed and she reached out towards me. She cupped my chin in her hand and raised it so that our eyes met. _

"_Oh, little Eleanor. Ma petite Soeur. You always did feel happiest when we were all together, didn't you?" she murmured, brushing a stray curl away from my face._

"_Alas, that cannot happen now. I cannot be seen to be the weak one. Father would never allow it."_

"_But - " I protested. Anne shook her head firmly, touching her hand to my lips to silence me. Briefly, a thought "_What must Anne's other ladies think of this?" _flashed through my head, before I remembered that Anne and I were alone in her apartments, for most of her attendants were out hunting with King Henry and she had dismissed the few that weren't already accounted for._

"_However" Anne continued, breaking into my train of thought "You could. You could write to Mary. You're the next Duchess of Suffolk and you're practically equal in rank to Father, without the pressure to keep up regal appearances upon your shoulders. No one would mind if you showed a little compassion and wrote to Mary. In fact, they'd probably commend you for it." Anne suddenly came to a decision and gripped my shoulders._

"_Yes. That is definitely the best solution. You write to Mary, Eleanor, and find out how she is. Once she's had her child, you can send her a gift from all of us."_

_Without another word, Anne released me, and went back to her sewing. I followed suit, feeling as though a weight had dropped from my shoulders._

_Even if I hadn't achieved my original aim of Mary being allowed to return to Court and see her children again, I had at least won a partial victory, in that Anne had as good as __**ordered**__ me to write to Mary. At least now I could act as go-between. _

_I only hoped Mary wouldn't be delivered of a son by William Stafford once she entered her confinement. Especially if Anne failed to give the King a son this time. If that happened, she'd never forgive Mary. _


	28. Family Troubles

**AN: Okay, this wasn't due for another day or two, but when Lady Isabelle Black wrote me a PM asking me to update again, I couldn't resist. I already had the draft written out, so Lady Isabelle Black, this is for you. **

**And Boleyn Girl13, it's for you too, to thank you for always, always reading and reviewing! Thank you so much, Marissa!**

_Chapter 28_

_Family Troubles_

_**August 1534**_

_I kept up my correspondence with Mary and her new husband over the last few months of Mary's pregnancy and one day I received a letter from William Stafford, delightedly telling me that Mary had given birth to a daughter. Strong and healthy, she had been baptised with the name Anne Isabel Stafford. Anne for our sister, and Isabel for William's sister. _

_As my royal sister had asked, I wrote straight back, congratulating them on Anne's birth. I sent Mary a gold cup and a small French Hood encrusted with seed pearls for when little Anne was older._

_That done, I went to write to Lady Susanna, my daughter's governess, and tell her that I hoped to come down to Tattershall to visit Margaret and George, now aged almost three and 10 months old respectively. I hadn't gone to see them for quite some time, and I was feeling guilty about it. _

_Maybe I would be able to get away from Court in the autumn, once the summer progress and the general merriment was over. Yes. That was a good idea. Who knew, I might even find the time to go and see my sister Mary and meet my new niece Anne._

_I never did make it to Tattershall that autumn. For all my fine plans, I never made it. The very day that I was due to leave, Kitty ran into to my bedchamber, pale and breathless._

"_Eleanor! Come quickly!"_

"_What is it, Kitty?" I asked shortly, still fastening my valise shut and wrapping a warm travelling cloak around my shoulders. Kitty's next words, however, chilled me to the bone._

"_It's the Queen! She's gone into premature labour! She's asking for you."_

_I never remembered the next few minutes, but somehow I must have torn off my cloak and raced through the palace to Anne's rooms, because the next thing I remember is dropping to my knees beside her bed. I held her hand and whispered soothing words as the physicians and midwives busied themselves around her, doing their utmost to halt her labour and still save the Prince inside her._

_In vain. Within the hour, Anne's body arched, and, with a keening scream of anguished pain, she gave birth to a perfectly formed baby boy. A boy that would never be any use to us. Too young to survive outside the womb, he had closed his eyes and let his Maker take him. He had been born dead._

_At the sight of him, my stomach lurched and tears burned behind my eyelids. Not wanting to break down in front of Anne – God knows, she had enough to deal with – I turned and fled the room._

_Bursting out on to the balcony that overlooked the rose gardens, I frantically searched the crowds below for my husband. _

_Not seeing him, I spun on my heel and ran on, praying I would find him, and find him fast._

_I did. As I ran past my father in law's rooms, Henry opened the door and bade his father good day._

"_Henry." I stepped into his path._

"_Eleanor! What are you doing here? I thought you'd gone to see the children."_

"_I couldn't." I choked out. Henry took one look at my white face and swept me into his embrace. He pulled me into his father's apartments and shut the door behind me._

"_What is it? What's happened? What's wrong?"_

"_Anne – Anne went – went into premature – premature labour." I gulped. "She gave birth to – to a dead son. It was awful! I couldn't leave her!"_

"_Of course not." Henry murmured, removing my hood and caressing my hair. I clung to him, silently thanking God that he was there for me. That he understood._

_His father the Duke, however, did not. Once he had ascertained that Anne herself was still alive, his first exclamation was "Damn!"_

"_**What?" **__ I spun in Henry's arms to glare at him. "How can you __**say**__ that? Have you any idea how Anne must be feeling right now?"_

"_Better a dead Queen and a live Prince than vice versa, Eleanor. Even you must understand that. Princes are rare in this market." He snapped, before asking "Does His Majesty know?"_

"_No, not yet. It's only just happened." _

"_Then we'd better tell him. Better us than somebody else. They'd try to spin it to their advantage. Henry, would you?"_

"_Yes, Father." Henry gave me a last gentle squeeze and went to leave._

"_But that's not the worst of it." My voice was so hollow that I was surprised it still belonged to me. Henry whirled round and my father in law fixed me with his most piercing stare "What do you mean?"_

"_I'm with child. Think about it. Mary's just delivered a healthy girl and I, the other Boleyn girl at Court, am with child. What message do you think that will give the rest of the Court? And the King? Whatever it is, it won't be good for Anne. Anne will never forgive this, I tell you."_

"_Yes, she will." Henry assured me, at the same time as his father snarled "You're a Brandon. You're the Countess of Lincoln. Why would you care whether Her Majesty forgave your current condition or not?" I stared at the Duke in angry consternation. How could he be so blind?_

"_Queen or not, Anne is my sister!" I cried._

"_Which is precisely why she'll forgive you. Just don't tell her right now. Wait for her to recover first." _

_With that, Henry slipped from the room to find the King, leaving his father and I alone. Tears still drying on my face, I curtsied awkwardly. "I'd better get back to the Queen, Your Grace."_

_He nodded, so with some relief, I left._

_

* * *

_

_Problems only mounted for Anne in the following weeks. It appeared that King Henry had taken a mistress whilst she was pregnant and, now that she had failed again to produce a son, he openly flaunted his new sweetheart in front of her._

_Insecure and vulnerable, Anne hated it._

_At first, she tried to win the King back to her by persuading his daughter Mary to take the Oath. Mary had once been the Pearl of the King's World; Anne thought that, if she could manage to be instrumental in securing their reconciliation, Henry would return to her. She was so desperate to succeed that she even offered that, if Mary agreed to recognise her marriage to Mary's father as valid, they would appear side by side on all occasions, meaning Mary would take precedence over all the other Ladies at Court, even Anne's own daughter, my niece, the Princess Elizabeth Eleanor Tudor._

_It was a generous offer; one that, had the Lady Mary only accepted, could have brought the whole Royal Family together once more, but it failed._

_Despite my firm assurances that Anne was genuine in her offer and our aunt Lady Shelton's threat that, if she were in the King's shoes, and had the authority to do so, she would make Mary lose her head for her obstinate behaviour, Mary stood firm in her refusal to sign._

_Anne, angry and humiliated, took her anger out on everyone, even those of us who could have been her allies. She even flared up at the King, railing against him and his Mistress. In fact, I came into her rooms one day in early October, not long after Anne had recovered from her miscarriage, to find them shouting at one another._

"_I won't stand for it, I tell you! I won't stand by, Henry, and watch my ladies whoring in public with an adulterer! Either you get rid of her or I get rid of her, but the harlot goes!"_

"_Oh no she does not!" the King roared. "I am your Sovereign Lord! My word is law! The girl stays!"_

"_How can you want her? She's not even a virgin!"_

"_Neither were you, Madam! You betrothed yourself to Henry Percy!"_

"_And gave him up to marry you!" Anne shrieked. "Why? Because I love you. I love you more than anyone else on this Earth. But you, Henry, you make a mockery of me!"_

_For a moment seemed stunned. Anne, however, was in full flow. _

"_You swore to me you loved me! You swore to me that there would be no one else. On the strength of that promise, I cared for you. On the strength of that promise, I let you tear apart the memory of my first love and raise me up to be Queen of England. On the strength of that promise. And now you make a mockery of it, of me, by dallying with another woman!"_

_At last, King Henry regained control of himself. _

"_You say that I make a mockery of what I have sworn; of what I have done. Well, hear this, My Lady Queen. If I had the choice over again, I would not swear at all. I would not do it at all."_

_His Majesty spat the last sentence at my sister and then strode away._

"_Where are you going? Your Majesty, where are you going?" Anne screamed. The King did not even bother to turn around. _

"_Hatfield. I want to see my daughter." _

_He vanished from sight and Anne turned to me where I was standing in the doorway._

"_Go with him, Eleanor. I need to be sure that he goes to see Elizabeth. Go with him."_

_

* * *

_

_We did. Because of how late we'd set out, we didn't have much time there; barely enough to dine and then pay a fleeting visit to Elizabeth's nursery, but Lady Bryan assured us that her charge was well, even going so far as to say that Elizabeth hardly ever cried, as if she already knew that she was a Princess._

_His Majesty took Elizabeth from me then and rocked her in his arms as he spoke to Lady Bryan. _

"_Take good care of my rose, Lady Bryan. You never know, one day this little girl may preside over Empires."_

_Then he kissed Elizabeth on the forehead and apologised for not being able to stay longer, before laying her back in her cradle. As he stepped back, I bent over Elizabeth and wished her sweet dreams. After that, I said a swift farewell to Lady Bryan and Lady Shelton, the Princess's governesses, and followed King Henry out to the courtyard._

_As we mounted up, I felt someone's eyes on me. Twisting in the saddle, I looked up to see Lady Mary, who was standing on the balcony above our heads. She was wearing a simple black dress and her despair was so clearly written in every line of her body that, despite her inborn regal demeanour, she made such a pathetic figure that I was moved to pity._

_Raising a hand, I nodded to my old childhood friend and smiled up at her kindly. _

_She ignored me. Her eyes had moved to take in her father, the King. Locking her gaze with his, she dropped into a deep reverent curtsy._

_The King froze and I held my breath. My heart missed a beat as I glanced at him to try to gauge his reaction. Mary was His Majesty's daughter as much as Elizabeth was, and she had once been the Pearl of his world, but by now she had twice defied him; twice refused to take the Oath and accept her new bastard status. Would King Henry acknowledge that? Would he treat Mary as his daughter and go back into the Palace to see her, or would he treat her as his disobedient subject? Would he acknowledge her at all?_

_In the end, he did neither particularly, or rather, he did a mixture of both. He treated her like a fair damsel in distress. He swept her a gallant bow and then leapt into his saddle and rode away without looking back. I followed, head spinning._

_I was glad, of that much I was certain, but I wasn't sure what I was glad about. Part of it was because the King had seen Mary and deigned to recognise her, but the way he'd recognised her...It hadn't been as a father to a daughter or even as a King to a high-ranking subject. No. It had been as a Knight acknowledges that there is a fair maiden who requires his services. If the King himself now saw Mary as a damsel in distress, then what did it mean for her mortal enemy, my sister Anne?_

_Shaking my head to clear it of such thoughts, I spurred my horse forward and galloped after King Henry, who was fast vanishing from sight. The speed had its desired effect and soon I was point blank refusing to think about the matter any more._


	29. Affairs of State

_Chapter 29_

_Affairs of State_

_I said nothing to Anne about the King having bowed to Mary as we left Hatfield, feeling that it would only upset her further._

_To my relief, though Anne usually pressed for every detail of any visit that anyone at all ever made to her precious little daughter, this particular time, she was too caught up in the preparations for the Admiral of France's state visit. The Admiral was paying us a visit in order to further discuss the possibility of a betrothal between Princess Elizabeth and one of the Princes of France, and not surprisingly, Anne was determined that it should be a success._

_However, the state visit – and the preparation for it - was one of Anne's few pleasures during the latter part of 1534, for King Henry, in the manner so common among sportsmen who have achieved their desire, was tiring of my sister. He didn't even try to hide his affairs any more._

_Of course, this hurt Anne, even more so than it had Katherine, because she was so used to being the only woman in King Henry's heart. Every time she realised that King Henry's eye had alighted upon another woman, she railed against him, and it was always me who had to calm her down._

_The worst of these fits of pique__ occurred after the State Banquet thrown in honour of the Admiral, when King Henry left the table, ostensibly to find the Admiral's secretary, but in reality to find his newest sweetheart and take her out on to the floor to dance. In public, Anne attempted to laugh the incident off, but it shook, and that night, as I was brushing her hair, she burst into tears._

"_I can't take this, Eleanor. Henry used to love me, love me with a passion. What's going wrong?"_

"_Nothing's going wrong, Anne." I assured her. "King Henry's just a hunting man, that's all. He's chasing those girls because he enjoys the thrill of the chase. That's why he chased you, remember? If you hold her head high and ignore his dalliances, like the Princess Dowager used to do, then nothing will ever come of them. The King will come back to you. He'll have to. You're still beautiful, Anne, as beautiful as you were all those years ago, when you first came home to Hever at the age of 16. You're still young enough to produce a son. Besides, Katherine's still alive. If, God Forbid, King Henry __**did**__ set you aside, he'd have to go back to her. He'd never do that. Never in a month of Sundays. Not after all the trouble he went through to get you. And certainly not if it's a choice between Mary and Elizabeth as his heiress. Anyone with half an eye can see that Elizabeth's the healthier of the two."_

"_There's Henry Fitzroy, though." Anne reminded me hollowly. I scoffed._

"_Pah! He's a bastard got off a nobody!"_

"_King Henry made him a Duke, though, sister. A Duke twice over, and Earl of Nottingham besides."_

"_When he was married to a barren woman." I retorted. "He'll champion Elizabeth's rights over young Henry's, never fear. Didn't he pass an Act of Parliament saying that Elizabeth was the one true heiress to the throne?"_

"_Well…yes, but…"_

"_Well, then he's honour bound to champion her rights to the throne."_

_A short silence followed my words, during which I wondered wildly if I had been trying to convince Anne with my reassurance, or whether, subconsciously, I had been trying to convince myself. At last Anne got up, murmuring "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away."_

_Her words, though they were perfectly familiar, since they came from the Bible, seemed to have a strange ring to them, as though they suddenly had a double meaning, and they rang in my ears long after Anne had retired to bed._

_I tried to pass them off as a chance comment that meant nothing, but somehow, I couldn't. They'd been too grave for that._

_

* * *

_

_Then came the news from France. King Francis, despite his long association with my sister, had decided not to allow his son's betrothal to Elizabeth to go ahead. Instead, he was suggesting a match between his eldest son, the Dauphin and Anne's stepdaughter, the Lady Mary._

_Anne was furious! She'd been counting on King Francis, at the very least, recognising herself and Elizabeth as the true Queen and Princess of England._

_King Henry was angry too. Not so much at the insult to my sister, but more at the way he'd been played for a fool by the French. In retaliation, he sent the Admiral of France packing and started to crack down hard on those of his subjects who had not yet signed the Oath._

_One of these was Sir Thomas More. Though he had always opposed the divorce, even resigning his post of Chancellor when it became clear that the annulment of Katherine's divorce to the King was imminent, his old friendship with His Majesty had kept him safe thus far. It kept him safe no longer. Father was dispatched to Chelsea to administer the Oath and, when More held true to his principles and Father returned without having succeeded in his task, King Henry ran out of patience._

"_By God, More will defy me no longer!" he roared. With a word, he sent Father, the Duke of Suffolk and a contingent of soldiers galloping back to Chelsea to arrest More and bring him back to London to reside in that most dreaded of places, the Tower._

_I would have thought that Anne would be delighted at this open championing of Elizabeth's rights, but she was growing more paranoid by the day._

_One night just before Christmas, it was my turn to sleep in Anne's bedchamber and she woke sweating with fear. I hurried to her side as she croaked my name "Eleanor."_

"_Sister? What is it? What's wrong?"_

"_I had the dream again." she cried. _

_Without a second thought, I flew to the door and sent a page running for George. He was the only one who had even a __**hope**__ of calming Anne when she was like this._

_Luckily, George came at once. He sized up the situation almost before he was properly through the door._

"_She was drowning in a cage and the Lady Mary was watching her die?" he guessed and I nodded. George sighed and was about to try to move forward to try to soothe our sister, when suddenly, Anne turned to us._

"_I've had a thought! I know what the dream means now! It means I can never conceive a healthy son while the Princess Dowager and her daughter are living. They need to die before I can succeed in that. I need to persuade the King to kill them!"_

_George and I exchanged glances. Anne's eyes were burning dangerously bright and her words almost sounded like the ramblings of a madwoman. Simultaneously, we crept closer, but Anne paid us no heed. She was musing aloud to herself._

"_But why involve Henry at all? He'll never agree. There's talk of war with France. With Scotland. When Henry goes away to battle. I'll be Regent. I can simply order their deaths!"_

_At last, George could restrain himself no longer. _

"_Anne! Anna-Maria! Stop this! This is madness! It's treason!"_

"_No it's not! Nothing's treason for the Queen of England!" Anne clutched at him, laughing wildly. Her laughter was the final straw. It was high and hysterical; not at all like Anne's pretty bell-like laugh of old. George acted instantly. He pulled Anne into his arms and hugged her as she trembled. He hugged her tight, warming her with his warmth, reassuring her with his proximity, soothing her with his touch, his voice, his kisses. _

_Leaning down, he kissed her on the forehead and on her raven black hair countless times, until she was calm enough to fall asleep again._

_When she was, I went to the door and shut it, realising only now that any one of Anne's ladies could have spied on the whole scene – including George kissing her._

"_You fool, Eleanor! You fool! Anne's dignity should have been the first thing on your mind, indeed, the __**only**__ thing on your mind!" I scolded myself. "What if someone saw that? It wouldn't look good for the Boleyns."_

_I told George of my worries, but he laughed them off with his usual easy grace._

"_Who'd want to spy on Anne? She's the Queen. If they were caught, it would spell Treason."_

"_Jane, your wife, for one." I retorted, tense and exhausted – too exhausted for diplomacy._

"_I can deal with Jane." George chuckled. "I'm a man, remember. And her husband. If I order her to keep silent or to go down to our estate at Grimstone or Rochford, then she'll have to do as I say."_

"_And if it's one of the other ladies? What will we do then? You haven't got the same amount of authority over all of them, you know."_

"_Oh, Nora." George came across to me and pressed a quick feather of a kiss to my temple. "Stop worrying. Most of Anne's ladies were handpicked by Uncle himself for their loyalty to the Howards, and those that weren't are nobodies. None of them stands to gain anything by betraying Anne."_

"_There's a Seymour among them. And as for the others, they're handpicked for their loyalty to the __**Howards,**__ not the Boleyns. As long as Anne's clearly the only Queen that King Henry will accept, they'll be loyal, but what if she doesn't stay the only woman he will accept as his Queen? What will happen then? Will they stay loyal? I doubt it."_

"_Eleanor Margaret Brandon _nee _Boleyn. You can't go on worrying like this." George cut me off firmly. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, all you need to do is sit here and be ready to serve your Queen when she wakes. Understand? Now, I must go. Goodnight, little sister. And try not to think too much."_

_George bent over me and embraced me briefly, before bowing to Anne's sleeping form on the bed and leaving._

"_Try not to think too much." I snorted softly, hoping I wouldn't wake Anne. She needed to sleep._

_It was as if George had told me to stop breathing. Even assuming I managed to stop panicking about the chances of Anne's behaviour that night having been noticed, Anne's behaviour itself gave me plenty to contemplate. Would she really order Katherine and Mary's deaths if the King left her as Regent? I longed to believe she wouldn't, but the look in her eyes had been so strange; one might even say it had been crazed._

_Who knew what Anne might do, if she truly believed it was the only way to keep her throne? To conceive a son and stay in His Majesty's good graces? To keep herself safe?_

_I stared down at Anne, wishing with all my heart that I knew what was going through her mind as she slept. Was she plotting the Lady Mary's death? Or was she already regretting her words, spoken as they were out of fear? Fear, rage and desperation? I didn't know, but all of a sudden, I knew I couldn't take the chance. If I stood idly by, and Mary Tudor died because of it, I would never forgive myself. I couldn't take the risk._

_

* * *

_

"_Cock-a-doodle-do!" Before the final note of the stable cockerel's morning greeting had died away, I was up, out of my seat by Anne's bedside and running through the palace corridors to the bedchamber I shared with my husband. I had to get to him before he went to hear Mass with the King._

_As it happened, Henry was barely dressed when I rushed into our apartments. He smiled when he saw me. "Good morning, Eleanor."_

_I shook my head slightly. "I'm not sure it is. Not for the Princess Mary."_

_At my words, Henry sprang to the door of our bedchamber and slammed it._

"_Watch out! She's the __**Lady**__ Mary now. You of all people should know that!"_

"_I do know, it's just – I was just so shocked…" I quickly told my husband every detail of what had gone on in Anne's rooms the night before. He listened attentively, and as I spoke, his face grew more and more solemn. He interrupted me long before I got to the end._

"_That's it. I've had enough. You're leaving Court."_

"_But -" _

"_It's no longer safe. Can't you understand, Eleanor? Your sister's gone mad. I won't have you here, particularly not in your current condition."_

"_But Henry, I'm not sure __**you**__ understand. If my sister __**has**__ gone mad, which I'm still not sure about, by the way, then surely I'm the only one who can help her? I know what she used to be like, you see. She used to be the sweetest older sister that God ever put on this Earth. I'm sure that girl; that Anne Boleyn, is still in there somewhere. I've just got to find her."_

_Henry regarded me steadily for a moment or two, trying to measure the strength of my determination. At last he sighed. "All right. All right. Here's what I suggest we do. I'm going to write to my cousin Mary, warning her to be on her guard, whilst you ask Anne's permission to withdraw from Court. Say you want to see the children over Christmas. Live with them at Tattershall over the winter, and then come back once the roads are better again. Say February, maybe March?"_

"_The baby's due in April." I pointed out. "I've travelled heavily pregnant once. I'm not doing it again."_

"_True…"Henry mused "Very well, you'll just have to stay at Tattershall until the baby's born. Have the child there and then come back to Court after your churching, in time for the summer progress. Do that, and I won't ask you to leave again. Does that sound fair?" _

_The honest answer was no. It didn't sound fair at all. Henry was asking me to leave my beloved older sister, my Queen, for an entire six months, and that was only if the baby came on time. I didn't want to do it. But I had to admit that he was right; that the tense atmosphere of the Court was no place for a pregnant woman. Besides which, he looked so resolute that I knew I was lucky that he was even allowing me to come back to Court at all. It was the best deal I was going to get. Slowly, reluctantly, I nodded. It had the desired effect. Relief washed over Henry's face and he came round to me and laid his hands on my shoulders._

"_Thank you, my love. I really do think it's best for you. You know I wouldn't ask this of you if I didn't think it was important."_

_Still slightly angry with him, I stayed stiff in Henry's arms, though I only pulled away when something came into my mind. I went across to my jewel casket and rummaged around. I extracted a garnet brooch and held it up to the light. Yes, it was as I thought. The stone was exactly the same colour as a pomegranate. A pomegranate. Katherine of Aragon's emblem. Turning back around, I thrust it into Henry's hand. "Here. Send that to the Lady Mary when you write to her. She'll understand why."_

_Then I turned and ran out of the room._

_

* * *

_

"_Anne?" I went forward and dropped to one knee beside my sister, ignoring the uncomfortable position it put me in as she looked up from her sewing._

"_Yes, Eleanor?" _

"_I've come to ask your permission to leave Court for a while. I know it's an awkward time, what with it being right before Christmas, but I haven't seen my children for months and I think you'll agree that Christmas is a time for family. Besides which, I happen to be -"_

"_With child." Anne finished. I stared up at her in shock._

"_How did you know?"_

_Anne laughed – the first time I'd heard her laugh properly for ages. "I'm not a fool, Eleanor. Nor am I woodwild. You've loosened your gowns lately. There had to be a reason. Nor can I ignore the fact that you seem to have developed rather a strong craving for salmon. Madge was complaining about it only the other day – you know how much she likes it. No, dear sister, the question is not how I know, but rather, when is the child due?"_

"_April." I admitted. "I'd have told you sooner, but with the way you treated Mary…"_

"_You thought I'd be angry." Anne sighed. She looked around and raised her hand to order her ladies to withdraw a few paces, allowing us at least the illusion of privacy before continuing. "No, Eleanor, no. You're a married woman; a woman married to a man worthy of being brother-in-law to royalty. A man of royal blood, if it comes to that. There's a world of difference between Mary's William and your Henry. Besides which, you also happen to be my baby sister. I could never be angry at news which makes you happy. Never!"_

_Beckoning me forward, Anne reached up and embraced me, wrapping me in her arms for one brief moment. Then she released me, exhaling slowly. _

"_I'll miss you. With the roads bound to be bad this winter, it'll be months before I see you again. With Mary gone, I'll be the only Boleyn girl at Court, and that will be a strange feeling. It's not one I'm used to any more. But if you feel you must go, then by all means, go. I would never keep you from your children, not against your will. Godspeed and God Bless, sister."_

"_God Bless you too, Anne. I'll be back at Court as soon as I can." I answered, carefully hiding my disappointment as I kissed her on both cheeks. I had half been hoping that she would deny me permission to leave her side; that I wouldn't have to leave Court, or not for six months at least, but there was nothing I could do now. I would just have to accede to my husband's request and ride for Tattershall. _

_I stepped back and swept my sister a low curtsy, which I repeated twice more as I backed out of the room. Nodding to the guards to shut the door behind me, I quickly murmured an explanation into Madge's ear and then went to my own apartments._

_An hour later, I had packed a small bag for the journey and arranged for the rest of my things to be brought on later. _

_Without another moment's hesitation, I set out for Tattershall. _


	30. Mary, Anne and Madge

_**AN: Please read and review – but all flames will be used as kindling for Anne Boleyn's bedroom fire! **_

_**By the way, I own nothing that you recognise! Enjoy!**_

_Chapter 30_

_Mary, __Anne and Madge_

_I saw the red brick walls of Tattershall approaching with some relief. Clattering over the drawbridge, I leaned forward and patted Moonlight on the base of her neck as the stable boy ran out to help me dismount. _

"_Lady Eleanor." The lad bowed. "This is a surprise. We were expecting you months ago, but not now."_

"_Yes, well, things came up." I answered shortly, laying a hand on his shoulder as I unhooked my leg and slid off Moonlight's back. "Take her and bathe her, would you? She's worked hard these last two days. Here." I slipped three pennies into his hand, making a mental note to find out the lad's name as soon as possible. I prided myself on knowing most of my servants' names, but he was new. Clearly, he recognised me because of gossip around the house. _

_Right now, however, my children were my only concern. As James and Grace, my husband's steward and our housekeeper, came hurrying out to meet me, I waved them away. _

"_I suppose the tenants want my attention, James? I'll speak to you this evening about them. Grace, just organise me an ewer of cold water, would you? I'll wash and go straight to the nursery."_

"_Yes, Madam Eleanor." James bowed and Grace curtsied and then the two of them melted away. I felt slightly guilty about it, but I was burning to see my children._

_

* * *

_

_Half an hour later, washed and refreshed after my toiling two day journey from Court, I made my way to the nursery. _

_Susanna, Margaret's nurse, let me in and curtsied "Here they are, milady. Safe, bonny and well, the both of them."_

"_Thank you, Susanna." I murmured, before stepping forward past her to see my children fully. They were standing hand in hand by the fireplace, both dressed in their best. _

_I caught my breath. George was just over a year old, and more a little boy than a baby, though I suspected Margaret's hand, which he was clutching for dear life, was the only thing keeping him upright. And Margaret. My Margaret. With her newly brushed blonde hair, blue-green eyes and delicate frock of creamy French lace, she looked angelic. _

_Longing to kneel down to their height, but knowing that my stiff muscles and the bulk of my pregnancy would render that difficult, if not impossible, I settled for pulling up a chair and beckoning them forward. _

"_Margaret, George. Do you know who I am?" I questioned softly. George looked blank, but Margaret nodded vigorously. "You're our Mama."_

"_That's right. And do you know where I've come from?"_

_Margaret shook her head, blonde curls bobbing. "No."_

"_I've come from Court. That's where the King and Queen live. They're your family, you know."_

"_King Henry and Queen Anne? How are they our family?" Margaret asked, her young eyes bright, eager for an answer. Her nurse shifted restlessly. "My Lady Margaret…Your Mamma's tired."_

_I shook my head. "It's all right, Susanna. I'm not too tired to tell her." I beckoned Margaret closer, and, gently letting go of George, she obeyed._

_I smiled down at her as I answered "Their Majesties are your family, Margaret, because Queen Anne is my older sister, just like you are George's." _

_I looked around for my son then and found him engrossed in playing with a cloth ball made of rags. Deciding that he would probably be happier if I left him alone for a while, until he'd accustomed himself to my presence, I focused on my daughter._

"_In fact, you've met the Queen, Margaret. She gave you a little doll in a yellow dress. You won't remember."_

_To my surprise, Margaret nodded firmly. "Yes I do, Mama. Aunt Anne had dark hair and she was wearing a lovely dress. I play with the doll she gave me all the time. I call her Buttercup."_

"_Do you? What, like the flower? That's a lovely name."_

_By this time, Margaret was leaning against my chair. Carefully, not wanting to startle her, I reached out and picked her up. _

"_Shall I tell you more about Court and what it's like?"_

_Margaret nodded. "Please Mama."_

_I settled my little girl more comfortably on my lap and then began to talk._

_

* * *

_

_I lived a charmed life in the country for the next few months. True, it was the depths of winter and bitterly cold; true, I had the tenants to see to and domestic affairs to settle, but other than that, my time was my own. I spent it playing with George or else telling Margaret stories about my own childhood at England's Court and teaching her her first stitches. I could have taught her her letters and numbers, but I was waiting for George to get a little older before I did, because then I could teach him too. _

_However, I did not seek out the latest news from Court. I was determined to fully enjoy life here at Tattershall and fretting over my sister's fate would not help that. Besides which, it would be bad for the baby and I did so want this child to be healthy. Margaret was longing for a sister; George for a brother, but I didn't really care. Henry and I had our heir and he was strong and healthy, Praise God. _

_Another boy would be nice, but if the child was a girl, I'd love it all the same._

_Christmas passed, as did New Year, bringing with it Margaret's third birthday, then January, then February. One day in early March, I was reading a story to George when Margaret came running over from the window, where she had been sitting with her nurse trying to practice her stitches. _

"_There's horses on the bridge, Mama."_

"_All right, darling. I'm coming." I got up and followed her across the room, holding George in my arms. One glance at the standard told me who it was. _

"_It's Papa." I smiled down at my children before turning to their nursemaid. "Susanna, go down and tell Lord Lincoln that I'm in the nursery with the children, would you?"_

"_Yes, Madam Eleanor." Susanna bobbed a curtsy and ran._

_While she was gone, I swiftly surveyed my children's appearance. They were neat and tidy, but not overly so. They didn't disgrace the House of Suffolk, but neither did they seem like stiff little mannequins. They seemed to be well loved young children, which is what they were. They would do._

_It was just as well that I came to that conclusion, because, just seconds later, I heard Henry's feet on the stairs._

_As he burst through the door, I rose to my feet and, still keeping a tight hold on my son, sank awkwardly into a curtsy to him._

"_My Love, there's no need for that! Especially not in your condition." Henry laughed, taking our son from me and helping me up. He kissed me quickly, prompting Margaret to shut her eyes in disgust. Then he ruffled George's hair, telling him what a big boy he was, before putting him down and turning to our daughter. _

"_How's my jewel today?"_

"_Well, Papa!" Margaret squealed, running over to him and throwing her arms around him as he picked her up and then suddenly tipped her backwards, making her skirts fly up._

"_Henry!" I gasped, terrified he would drop her, but Margaret screamed with laughter, clearly loving every second of it, and I couldn't blame her. My own father had never played with me like that and I had often wished he would. Henry was the kind of father that every little girl would adore._

_Setting her upright again, Henry said "Can you look after George for me, sweetheart? I need to borrow Mama for a while. We need to talk."_

_Margaret pouted "Won't you stay and play? George has a wooden castle if you want to play with that."_

"_We'll play later, jewel. Right now, I need to talk to Mama." Henry reassured our little girl, before putting a hand on my sleeve and steering me out of the room._

_It was only as the door swung shut behind us that he groaned and let his shoulders sag. His eyes suddenly hardened and I realised how much of a façade he'd put on for the children. My hand tightened on his arm. "What's wrong?"_

_He didn't answer until he had taken me into the library and shut the door. Then he walked over to the fireplace, laid a hand on it and swung to face me. _

"_There's good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"_

_I considered for a moment. Normally I would say good news, but in my condition – if the bad news came last and it was a great enough shock, it might send me into premature labour. No. Far better to have that first and then have the good to sweeten the blow._

"_Bad news please. Let's get it over with."_

"_All right. King Henry's just had Fisher and More executed."_

"_What? Fisher and More? Why? Over the Oath? But More's as close a friend as the King's ever had!"_

"_Yes, but it doesn't change anything. He's still dead. And to make matters worse, His Holiness the Pope just made Fisher a Cardinal."_

_My mouth fell open. "So King Henry has just as good as killed a Prince of the Church of Rome?"_

_Henry nodded "Exactly."_

_I couldn't help myself. I murmured "My God!" and crossed myself quickly. _

"_It gets worse." Henry warned me, his voice tight. "His Majesty is also blaming your sister for More's death."_

"_Blaming Anne? But why? What's she ever done to incite him against More?"_

"_Forced him to marry her, for a start." Henry sighed. "Think about it, Eleanor. More's been executed for not taking the Oath. He didn't sign the Act of Succession, either. Who do those two documents benefit most? Anne's daughter, Elizabeth. But Elizabeth is the King's daughter too. He can't blame her. It would be too much like blaming himself and, besides, she's little more than a baby. So he's blaming Anne."_

_It was too much. As I struggled to comprehend it all, I felt myself go weak at the knees. My legs buckled. Henry flew forward and caught me, shouting for Grace. _

_She hurried in, exclaiming at the sight of my drawn face. _

"_Good God! What have you told her, Lord Lincoln? She looks dreadful!"_

"_I'm _fine_!" I snapped irritably, pushing against Henry's chest to force myself upright before he tried to make me sit down. _

_It was a lie; I didn't feel fine at all. However, Grace had an annoying tendency to fuss like a mother hen and I didn't think that I could bear that just then. Ignoring her, I looked up at Henry._

"_So what's the good news?"_

"_What?" He looked completely stunned, as if he'd forgotten what he had said to me only a couple of minutes earlier. I raised my eyebrows._

"_You told me you had good news and bad news for me. I've had the bad news, so what's the good?"_

_Despite himself, Henry chuckled. "You're still incredibly white, Eleanor. You've just had a shock. Are you sure you want to know?"_

"_Yes." I answered firmly._

_Henry hesitated but then finally responded. "Well then…your sister's with child."_

_

* * *

_

_I might not have miscarried over Henry's news, but it was stressful. Besides which, I was now fretting over Anne's pregnancy as well as my own. Would she be lucky and carry this child to term? Would she have another stillbirth? Miscarry? Or would she manage to have another full term pregnancy but have a girl instead of a boy? If she gave the King another daughter, well, even I wasn't naïve enough to think that King Henry wouldn't show his disappointment this time. He'd had enough trouble making Elizabeth his heiress over his eldest daughter Mary without another girl compounding the problem. _

_The two together were enough to make me ill enough for our family physician to enforce bed rest for, not just the common last month, but the entirety of the rest of my pregnancy._

_As lively as I was, I hated the idea of it and protested vehemently to Henry._

"_I can't do this, Henry! I have my duties as the Lady of the Manor; as Countess of Lincoln! I have to look after my children. Especially if you're going back to Court."_

"_I know what you're saying, Eleanor, but no. It's too risky. I don't want you hurting either yourself or the child."_

"_I'm sure I'll be fine!"_

"_You can't know that! You've nearly collapsed once already. You're ill. No, my dear. You are not going to be performing your duties. You're going to follow Dr. Hobart's instructions and stay in bed, resting."_

"_But then, who will?"_

_Well, I've had an idea about that. James and Grace are perfectly capable, but if it makes you feel better, I can write to your sister Mary and ask her to come and stay for a while. She can bring her daughter with her. Would you like that?"_

"_Mary? Ask her to come? Here? With her daughter? Little Anne? But what if Anne finds out? Or worse, my father? You know I'm not meant to be seeing my sister. We're supposed to have cut off contact with her. Not that we have, but…"_

"_Never mind your father. What do you want, my love? Would you like me to write to Mary? Would you like to see your sister again?"_

"_Well, of course! Do you even need to ask?"_

"_Very well. Consider it done." Henry bent and kissed me, a feather light brush of his lips against my temple. I smiled at his touch and then, despite myself, dozed off, still weakened by the infection I was fighting._

_

* * *

_

_Henry left for Court the following week, but the day before he did so, I was awakened by two familiar voices outside my bedchamber. _

"_Yes, she's in here. She says she's fine, but if you could help her take it easy, I'd appreciate it."_

"_Of course, Henry. She's my little sister, remember. And I've lost her once already. I don't want to lose her again." _

"_You won't!" I called, sitting up and holding out my arms as the door opened to reveal Mary standing there at Henry's shoulder, her youngest child, Anne, on her hip. To my surprise, I saw that Mary's dress was laced broadly across her breasts and stomach. _

"_My God, Sister, did William not even let you wean this one before he got you pregnant again?" I laughed, beckoning her into the room. _

_Mary chuckled merrily, a rich warm sound that took me straight back to the days of my childhood, walking over to bend and wrap me in a one armed hug. _

"_Annie's eight months old now, Eleanor. By the time this one's born she'll be 15 months old. We'll cope. It won't be easy, but we'll cope."_

"_I'm sure you will! You always handled things like running a household very well. And William loves you, so that makes it easy."_

"_Not easy, but it makes it better, much better."_

"_I'll leave you ladies to it then. I have to pack for Court, and somehow I get the feeling that you want to be the Boleyn girls, not Lady Lincoln and Lady Stafford." Henry broke in and I flashed him an embarrassed smile. _

"_If you wouldn't mind. But thank you, Henry. Thank you so, so much. You've no idea how much this means to me."_

"_That's all right. I'll see you later, my love. Mary." Henry inclined his head to my sister and left. Mary chuckled as he went._

"_He still loves you, doesn't he? You still command him. I do believe he'd do anything for you."_

"_I'd do anything for him." I replied, before craning my neck to see the baby she had balanced on her lap. "Now are you ever going to introduce me to this new niece of mine, or am I going to have to make my own introductions?"_

_Mary flushed and held out her daughter. "Here. You'd better get used to having a baby in your arms again."_

_With a laugh, I took little Anne and rocked her, settling her warm solid weight comfortably in my arms. "Oh Mary, she's gorgeous."_

"_I think so too! Does that sound arrogant?"_

"_No, no, not at all! She's your daughter!"_

_

* * *

_

_With Mary's company to enliven the days, the weeks passed quickly. April arrived, bringing with it my new child. On St. George's Day, 1535, I gave birth to a healthy baby girl._

_From the moment I held her, I knew what her name had to be. _

"_Anne." Looking up at Mary, I murmured the name, softly at first, then louder. "Anne. I'm calling her Anne, for our sister. Anne Cecily. Anne Cecily Brandon."_

"_I wouldn't call her Cecily, Madam." Grace, who was also present, cautioned me. I stared at her in consternation._

"_Why ever not? It's a royal name, just as much as Anne is. As Margaret is."_

"_If you are naming her for the Queen, why not let her bear a name from the Brandon family too? Why not call her Frances, after Lord Lincoln's sister? Anne Frances Brandon?"_

"_Frances? Why on Earth would I name my child after her? I might name her after Eleanor, if we didn't happen to share a name, but Frances? She's not exactly been pleasant to me recently."_

"_No. She hasn't, I grant you that." Mary answered quietly, before Grace could come up with a suitable response. "But she is your sister in law and one of the highest ranking girls in the country. And you used to be friends, Eleanor. Can you not name your daughter for her for the sake of that old friendship? Besides, Anne Frances has a ring to it. The Lady Anne Frances Brandon."_

_I sighed and looked down at my newborn daughter. Much as I hated to admit it, Mary and Grace were right. Frances did fit with Anne better than Cecily did, and, besides that, it had the advantage of being a Brandon name rather than a Yorkist one. The House of York wasn't looked on all that favourably, even if the King's own mother had descended from them._

"_Very well." I groaned. "You win. Anne Frances Brandon it is."_

_

* * *

_

_Little Anne was soon thriving and, within two months of her birth, I was back at Court, just as Henry had promised me I could be. Margaret wept to see me go, but my sister Anne was five months pregnant and I wanted to be with her again, so I comforted Margaret by telling her that Grace and Susanna would need her help around the house, now that they had a new baby to look after and swearing to her that I would come home again as soon as I could. Then I hugged her tight, sang her to sleep and rode away like a thief in the dawn light. _

_Anne was delighted to see me back at Court and absolutely thrilled when I told her that her little namesake and Goddaughter was bonny and thriving. She pressed me for details of the children and I was only too happy to provide them._

_Nevertheless, it wasn't easy for me, those first few days back at Court. I'd been away for so long that it was almost like being a newcomer all over again. Even Kitty, the wildest and most exuberant of my sister's ladies, suddenly seemed wonderfully experienced to me. _

_It didn't take long for me to get over it, though. After all, I had practically grown up in England's palaces._

_The more readjusted I became, the more I could see the cracks in Anne's relationship with King Henry. Oh, they presented a polished enough veneer of cordiality but__ they weren't the devoted sweethearts they had once been. Even their conversations, once so light, merry and easy, were now strained and stilted._

_It pained me to see it. Anne could have been such a good Queen, but the pressure she was under; pressure to prove herself good enough to replace a Princess like Catalina de Aragón, had made her even more paranoid than before. Though, by some grace, possibly the fact that I was her younger sister, I was spared the worst of her fierce tongue, even I could tell that she was isolating herself by fighting with even those of the courtiers who might otherwise have supported her. It was quite clear that only one thing could save her marriage now. A live healthy Prince._

_I wasn't the only one who could see it, either. George came over to me at breakfast one day and whispered "Uncle wants us all in his rooms."_

_Pushing aside my food, I nodded, rose, and followed him out of the hall._

_A few minutes later, Uncle greeted us stiffly as we entered his rooms. "George. Eleanor. Sit down."_

_We did, nodding briefly at the other Howards who lined the walls and surrounded the table. Uncle barely waited for us to acknowledge them before striding to the door and shutting it. Turning around, he started to speak without a single moment's hesitation._

"_So. Our Queen is with child, and all seems to be progressing well. However, His Majesty hardly spends any time with her now. The other families will have noticed it."_

"_Yes." George answered before I could do so, pressing my hand beneath the table to keep me quiet. "It's a shame. They were so happily married. So devoted to one another."_

"_Aye, George, but your sister – she never keeps the calm countenance that a Queen ought to. She uses words that one wouldn't use to a dog. To her courtiers. To King Henry himself. Is it any wonder that he's tiring of her?" _

"_You can't blame her! She's under stress!" I cried, earning myself a fierce look from Uncle Howard._

"_Under stress she may be, but as a Queen, she ought to remain gracious. However, Her Majesty is not our top priority. Right now, His Majesty will most likely be susceptible to the charms of another woman. What we need to do is make sure it is not a Seymour milksop. Or a wench from any other family. We need to ensure that a Howard girl takes his fancy."_

"_What about Katherine, Your Grace?" A smooth voice broke the momentary silence and every head turned to see where it had come from. Jane, George's hated wife, spoke steadily, a spiteful half smile curving her lips as she continued "I know she's young, only 14, but the King likes young girls. And Katherine's vivacious enough. We could have her schooled to please him, I think. Why not? Let her try."_

"_You can't!" I cried out brokenly, shuddering at the very thought of Jane and our Uncle throwing Kitty in King Henry's way. I didn't get any further before George's hand clenched on mine. "Hush. You'll make this worse." he hissed. Forcing myself to take a deep breath, I let George take over as he turned to Uncle and pleaded with him._

"_Eleanor's right, Uncle. You cannot make Kitty do this. She is only fourteen. I know that Mary was no older when she bedded the King, but Katherine is – is different. She is still such a child.__ You know how emotional she is. We would not be able to control her. She would fall for him and fall hard. And then she would give herself to him and he would have her and tire of her. She would be no better than some ruined easy slut and we would be no further forward. No, if we are to keep His Majesty's favour, it had better be some other woman we try to use. A slightly riper woman, perhaps."_

"_Like Margaret Shelton." One of my many Howard cousins leaned forward, catching Uncle's eye. Everyone knows she likes music and hunting like the King__, Your Grace. Who would think it strange if she was to accompany King Henry on a hunt or two; learn to sing his songs?"_

"_That's true…" Uncle appeared to be thinking, then suddenly, he came to a decision. "Very well. Margaret it is. Eleanor..." He fixed me with one of his hardest stares. "…You grew up watching your sister enrapture King Henry. You'll tell Margaret what to do; how to manage herself. You'll teach her all she needs to know. Do I make myself clear?"_

_I knew he was testing me. Obviously I wasn't going to be keen on any woman supplanting Anne in King Henry's heart, least of all one of our own cousins. I had already protested twice today. By choosing me to assist Madge, as our lively cousin liked to be known, he was trying to make it clear to me that I had to prove to him where my loyalties really lay. But I'd been at Court far too long to fall for that trick. I raised my eyes to his and held his gaze steadily, knowing that my eyes were mirror images of Anne's; knowing that he had been on the receiving end of a gaze like mine before; knowing that it would unnerve him. Then I rose from my seat, curtsied swiftly and murmured "If that is what you want, Your Grace."_

_He nodded crisply, dismissing us with a wave of his hand. I turned for the door, careful not to show my distaste for my task. I left the room without a backward glance. I didn't even wait for George. All I wanted to do was to find Madge and put this awful plan into motion. The sooner she caught the King's eye, the sooner he would tire of her. If he tired of her quickly, well, then Anne might be able to win him back before the child she carried forced her into confinement. I hoped and prayed that she would._


	31. Anne's Anger

_Chapter 31_

_Anne's Anger_

_I slipped into my cousin's bedchamber without knocking. Madge was standing before her looking glass, brushing out her rich glossy hair._

"_Madge." I greeted her shortly, brushing a light kiss against her cheek as she spun around._

"_Lady Lincoln. You startled me."_

"_Madge. We're cousins. Call me Eleanor. Please. It might make what I've got to do a little easier."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I've just come from a family council. You know Anne's with child?"_

"_Of course. Who doesn't?"_

"_Exactly." I sighed. "King Henry's being solicitous to her at the moment, but you know what men are like, especially Kings. He'll take a mistress, Madge, and Uncle doesn't want it to be a Seymour, or a girl from any other family, come to that. He wants it to be a Howard."_

"_I see. But what has this to do with me? Eleanor, if he's chosen you and you want me to try and persuade him to change his mind, you'd be better off going to his son. Or your husband. I can't do anything." Madge retorted, not even guessing what our Uncle had planned for her. Despite myself, I laughed at the very thought of what she was suggesting. _

"_Don't be ridiculous! I'm not the kind of woman His Majesty would want. I'm 20 years old and married, for God's Sake! He'd never choose me. He likes his girls young and blushing and virtuous. No, dear cousin, I'm not here because I want you to help me talk Uncle out of his choice."_

"_But then, why are you here?"_

"_Madge! You've been at Court for years. Use that pretty head of yours and tell me why you think I'm here."_

_Madge laid aside her ribbons and other fripperies and thought hard for a few moments. As the penny dropped, she gaped at me. "You don't mean…not me, surely?"_

"_That's exactly what I do mean. You're to put yourself in His Majesty's way, entrap him in your coils."_

"_But why me? Surely Uncle knows that I love Anne; that I don't want to do anything to hurt her?"_

"_Do you think he cares about that?" I retorted. "No, it was you or Kitty and, er – you were the more obvious choice. It's not just you who's going to have to be cruel to Anne, you know. It's going to hurt her, cut her deep to see King Henry chasing a member of her own family, but it's the only way. We have to learn to be cruel to be kind."_

"_We? Why do you say "We"?" Madge looked at me in confusion and I sighed, reaching up to smooth down her glossy hair and then setting her hood on her head._

"_Because I have to help you. Uncle's ordered me to help you catch the King."_

_

* * *

_

_Over the next few days and weeks, I spent more and more time with Madge, watching her with His Majesty and warning her when I thought he might start cooling unless she ran away from him herself. It was difficult; she was an exuberant young woman and hiding her emotions was not easy for her, but we made progress. _

_She played cards with him, sang his songs, danced to his tunes. The King couldn't help but have his head turned by her. _

_One morning, I was walking with her in the gardens when I saw the King coming. Madge did not see him coming, but I knew we needed to do something to smarten up her gown a little. I grabbed her, and improvising, tucked a few forget-me-nots into her hood behind each ear. I had just thrust a spray of golden honeysuckle into the sash like ribbon at her waist, when King Henry came within earshot._

"_Good Morrow, Lady Lincoln. Mistress Shelton."_

_I spun around and dropped into a curtsy. "Oh. Your Majesty. You startled us."_

"_Did I, Lady Lincoln? Or are you pretending because you were trying to make Mistress Shelton prettier before I caught sight of her?"_

"_Oh no, not at all, Sire. I merely thought that Madge should take advantage of your beautiful flowers to bedeck herself as befits a young woman on a glorious summer's day such as this one." I lied, keeping a half smile on my lips._

"_Ah. And what do you think, Mistress Shelton? Do you agree with Lady Lincoln?" King Henry asked, bending to help Madge out of her curtsy as he spoke to her._

"_How could I not, my Lord? She is older than me and wiser than me. Besides, is she not a Countess and a future Duchess. She must know how to play courtly games better than I do. All I have to offer England is a true and loyal heart."_

_Madge opened her eyes wide as she murmured her answer, feigning innocence._

"_A true and loyal heart is not such a bad thing, Mistress. There are too many people at this Court who work to their own agenda as well as to England's."_

_King Henry bent as though to touch his lips to Madge's cheek, but then remembered that I was there too. "Lady Lincoln. Could you give us a few moments, please?"_

"_Of course, Your Majesty." I nodded, curtsied and moved away to the other side of the garden._

_

* * *

_

_The next morning, Madge came to me before Mass. "Eleanor?" _

"_Yes?" I straightened the pearl inlaid cross that I was wearing around my neck. _

"_King Henry asked me to hunt with him after breakfast this morning." Madge's voice was loud, trembling with excitement. I hushed her quickly._

"_Shh! You don't want Anne to overhear. You know it would hurt her. Nor do you want the King to hear. If he hears how excited you are, he'll tire of you. He's a hunting man and hunting men only like the chase; not the catch itself so much. You'd do well to remember that, Cousin."_

"_Sorry. Still, will you tell the Queen I send her my apologies if she asks where I am later?"_

_I prayed inwardly that Anne would not. I would be the one to take the brunt of her disappointment and anger if she did. Nevertheless, I forced a smile for Madge._

"_Of course I will. Now, hurry. We'd do well to take our places."_

_

* * *

_

_Unfortunately for me, Anne did notice Madge's absence. "Where's Lady Madge __this morning?"_

_I raised my head from my sewing. "She's er – er…"_

"_Oh, out with it, Eleanor! Is she ill? She didn't look ill at Mass this morning and she certainly had a healthy appetite at breakfast. Did she overeat? Is that it?"_

"_No…oh, Anne, please. Don't take this the wrong way, but…she's hunting with His Majesty. He asked her yesterday."_

"_What? Hunting with the King?" Anne's voice had suddenly gone extremely hard. Our mother saw the danger and dismissed the other ladies instantly. They curtsied and went out. I was left alone with my mother and sister._

"_Sit down, Anne. Sit down, Your Majesty. Let Eleanor explain. I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason for this."_

"_You know there is." I directed the words at my mother, not my sister. "You were there."_

"_What do you mean, she was there?"_

"_We had a Howard family council, Anne. That's all, I swear."_

"_A Howard family council? Without me, your __**Queen**__?" Anne was almost on her feet. I had to soothe her._

"_It wasn't important, Anne. Not compared to you keeping your Prince safe in your belly. We didn't want to bother you with something as trivial as this."_

"_Well, what did you discuss? I want the truth. The whole truth, sister."_

"_We…well…Uncle was adamant that King Henry would take a mistress whilst you are with child. He didn't want it to be a girl from another family. So we chose one of our own."_

"_Madge, I take it." Anne had sat down again by now, but her temper was still simmering. Her voice was still hard._

_I nodded reluctantly, but she still wasn't satisfied. "You're holding something back." _

"_No, Anne. I swear, there's nothing…"_

"_There is." My mother broke in. I sent her a look "Don't. Don't. You'll make it worse."_

"_She's going to find out anyway. We might as well break it to her gently." My mother retorted, before turning back to my sister. "Anne, my dear. Try to stay calm, but Madge isn't working on her own. Eleanor has been assisting her."_

"_**What?"**__ Anne's reaction was even worse than I feared. She shot out of her chair, positively livid. I tried to back away. _

"_I couldn't…Uncle ordered me to. Do you think I __**wanted**__ to do it?"_

"_You could have refused!" Anne seized me by the shoulders and slapped me across the face over and over again. "You – could – have – refused!"_

"_Anne, think for a moment. Please. It was better than some Seymour milksop sneaking into your place without warning. At least we know we can control this girl." My mother tried to save me at least some of the pain and blame by interfering, but it was too late. Anne was too upset._

"_Is it really? Is it really? I don't think so!" Anne was shaking me in her agitation. _

"_I don't believe it. My own sister and my own cousin. Working against me." Her tone suddenly went quiet and mournful; her beautiful blue eyes filled with angry tears._

"_I'm not working against you, Anne. Please…"_

"_Yes you are. Yes you goddamn are. You would have told me if you weren't. You – would – have – told – me!" Anne punctuated every word with a harsh, savage blow. My head was reeling by the time she pushed me away from her._

"_Get out."_

"_Anne…I didn't want to upset you…I was thinking of the Prince…Anne…please…." I tried one last time to explain. In vain._

"_Get __**out!**__" Anne hurled the nearest book at my head as I dived for the door._

_

* * *

_

"_George! George!" Shouting my brother's name, I crashed through the doors of the King's apartments. George was there, playing cards with Thomas Percy and Francis Weston. He looked up as I dashed towards him._

"_Eleanor, what is it?"_

"_Can I talk to you? In private?"_

"_Of course. Excuse me, Thomas. Francis." Laying down his cards, George stood up and pulled me across the room, out of earshot. _

"_What is it? Nora? You look completely shaken."_

"_It's Anne, brother, it's Anne. She's found out about the King and Madge and she's furious. She basically chased me out of her rooms. I'm worried she's going to lose the baby."_

"_Oh Nora!" George knew how much Anne's approval meant to me, even after all these years. He put his hands on my shoulders. "Do you want me to go and talk to her?"_

"_Please." I nodded, trying to keep my voice from shaking. "You're the only one who can talk to her when she's like this. Try and calm her down, if only for the baby's sake. Mother's up there, but I don't think she'll be much use."_

"_All right, I'm coming. Show me."_

"_Anne isn't going to want me back in her rooms. Not now!"_

"_You can wait outside if you want, but I'm not leaving you here. You're too shaken. Thomas and Francis would take advantage of it. Come on."_

_George walked me back up to Anne's rooms and then disappeared through the doors almost at a run, leaving me to pace nervously up and down outside._

_I couldn't hear a thing; the doors were too thick for that, but then all of a sudden, I did hear something. Anne screaming. _

"_No, no, no. Not my Prince. Please! Not my Prince!"_

_The sound chilled my heart and I would have forced the doors open had George not come out and found me. _

"_You'd better go for a midwife."_

_He didn't need to say any more than that. My heart sank. "There isn't one in the Palace. It's too early. Go for Dr. Linacre!"_

_I pushed past him and sprinted into Anne's rooms. She lay on her grand four poster bed in a pool of blood. _

_As I approached, she glared up at me. "Are you happy now, Eleanor? Are you happy now?"_

"_No!" The words came out brokenly, as I choked back a sob at the sight of her. "I'm not! I told you to stay calm for the baby; I begged you! I begged you!"_

_Kneeling at her side, I tried desperately to staunch the flow of blood in any way possible. I believe I may even have used the skirt of my own gown. It was no good. By the time Dr. Linacre had been found and alerted, Anne had lost her child._

_She had miscarried England's Prince._


	32. Death of the Dowager Princess

_Chapter 32_

_Death of the Dowager Princess_

_**January 1536**_

_I was lying in bed, playfully teasing Henry by tickling him with my hair, which hung loose around my shoulders__, when the sound of galloping hooves in the courtyard below our room interrupted us. Extricating myself from Henry's grip, I slipped from bed and parted the curtains to see who it was._

"_What is it?" Henry murmured sleepily._

"_Someone for the King." _

"_Oh. It's too early for that now. Come back to bed."_

"_But doesn't it make you curious? Someone galloping in at this hour?"_

"_Not nearly as curious as you. Come back to bed, you minx. You'll drive me mad. Besides, you're shivering. Your shift's too thin for you to be anywhere but underneath these blankets. Come here."_

_Henry held out an imperious hand for me and I obeyed, sliding back under the covers with a slight smile. _

"_How is it you always know what to say to make me do what you want; do it happily?"_

"_Because I love you. But even if I didn't, you're my wife. Not my mistress, not my sister or my cousin, not my steward. You are my wife and you would have to obey me if I ordered it." Though Henry's voice was low and stern, his fingers were tracing lines on my throat and I knew he wasn't serious. Nevertheless, I played along._

"_But you won't, will you? Not after all this time." I raised my head as Henry continued to run his hand over my throat, breasts and shoulders, looking him in the eye. _

"_Not unless matters call for it. Not unless you suddenly turn into your cousin Katherine, for instance. Someone needs to take that girl in hand."_

"_Oh come now, she means no harm!"_

"_Maybe. But she's fifteen, Eleanor. At her age, you were married to me. You were far less giddy, less wild, less naïve."_

"_I was a Boleyn. And my father and my sister had me well under control. I remember how much I hated it. I was so relieved to marry you and get away from them. Kitty's childhood was worse. The Dowager Duchess of Norfolk is practically a witch, I tell you. Honestly. Let Kitty run wild for a while. She'll calm down eventually."_

"_I wish I had your confidence." Henry sighed. _

"_I wish you did too. But come, Henry, what does she matter to you? To us? She's my cousin, that's all. Forget her. Forget her. For me. Please."_

_As I spoke, I pressed my lips to Henry's and smiled as I felt him respond. "See? There's nothing to worry about. Kitty will be fine. We'll all be fine. After all, it's not as if Anne's dead and Kitty's going to be Queen of England in her stead, is it?"_

_Henry laughed, grabbing hold of me yet again. "Oh, Eleanor! You're the best of the Boleyn girls! You're the best of the Boleyn girls, and you need a reward."_

_

* * *

_

_Perhaps it would have been better if I hadn't gone back to bed that morning. Perhaps then I could have warned Anne. Perhaps then, assuming she still listened to me, which I had my doubts about, she wouldn't have had to hear the news along with the rest of us when she heard audiences with His Majesty King Henry, and she wouldn't have said what she did._

_As it was, however, when Sir Edmund Bedingfield knelt before the King and uttered those fateful words "Your Majesties, the Queen, I mean the Spanish Infanta; Her Highness the Princess Dowager, is dead." Anne failed to look grave as the situation required._

_On the contrary. She barely hid a smile of relief as she declared "Now I am unchallenged Queen in truth as well as in name. Now I am indeed Queen of England."_

_There was a collective gasp at her words. Whether Queen or Princess Dowager, Katherine had still been a relative of the King. By rights, we should plunge the Court into mourning now, not be showing joy._

_King Henry, however, looked somewhat stunned. He didn't even react at Anne's almost insolent words, not even to remind her to show respect for the dead. Instead, he merely stared at Sir Edmund without blinking. For several long moments, he said nothing at all. When he did finally say something, it was only to ask a question. _

"_Are you certain of this? Is it true?"_

"_Yes, Sire. I have ridden without pause from Kimbolton Castle ever since the Physicians confirmed it. I trusted no one else with news as important as this." Sir Edmund answered. Then he took a deep breath and held out a scroll with a trembling hand._

"_What is this?" _

"_It is – it is the Princess's Dowager's last letter to you, Your Grace. She beseeches you to be a kind father to the Lady Mary and that you will pay her servants the wages due to them. She also assures you of her love and asks that you will give the Lady Mary the collar of gold that the Infanta brought with her from Spain."_

"_Give it to me." King Henry held out his hand for the letter and Sir Edmund surrendered it reluctantly. His Majesty scanned it with his eyes and all of sudden, tore it in two with a great bellow of rage._

"_She dares call me husband? She dares? She dares sign herself Queen? She dares! No, Sir Edmund, I will never accept this letter!"_

"_Henry. Your Grace." Anne half reached for the King's arm. I was astounded at her daring; anyone with half an eye could see that her influence over the King had diminished in recent years, but, to my surprise, it worked. King Henry took a shaky breath and controlled his rage._

"_Nevertheless, she was my sister, and beloved to me for many a year. You will take care that she is buried with all the honours due a Princess of England and Wales, do you hear?"_

"_Yes, Your Majesty." Sir Edmund bowed again._

"_Good. Now, get out. I have a banquet to plan."_

"_A banquet, Your Majesty?" It was not Sir Edmund who spoke this time, but Cromwell. The King nodded._

"_A banquet. A banquet to celebrate the fact that the Princess Dowager's death also liberates England from the threat of war with the Emperor. And someone must ride to fetch the Princess from Hatfield. As my heiress, she ought to be here with us at this happy time."_

_

* * *

_

_To my surprise, Anne herself offered to ride and fetch her little daughter from Hatfield. Though I never doubted she loved little Elizabeth, she didn't see that much of her. It was the price she paid for being a crowned Queen of England. That was also the reason why I doubted that she would be allowed to go. A Queen's person was sacred. It wasn't fitting for her to ride all those miles to Hatfield to fetch someone, even if that someone was her daughter and the Princess of England. That was the argument which King Henry tried to gainsay her with._

_However, when she admitted that she also wanted to go in order to try and persuade the Lady Mary to accept her illegitimacy, now that her mother Katherine was dead, he relented, but only under the conditions that a full honoured guard rode with her and her ladies, for she would have to be attended as befitted a Queen._

_I admit that I wasn't sure whether she would ask me to go with her; after all, she was still angry with me over the Madge situation, even though King Henry had tired of our cousin months earlier, but as she was dressing to ride out, she looked at me. _

"_Well, Lady Lincoln? Do you not ride with me this morning? Or why aren't you ready yet?"_

_I started at the sound of her voice. "Oh, Your Majesty! I did not think…after what happened. I can of course ride with you, if you wish, but I was not…" I trailed off as I couldn't think of a suitable way to end the sentence, and busied myself with folding Anne's nightshift._

_Anne glanced up and caught my eye in the mirror as Nan Saville brushed and arranged her dark hair._

"_You're my sister and Elizabeth's Godmother. Besides, you used to be friends with the Lady Mary, did you not? Who else would I take with me? Go and get changed. Please."_

_Though Anne had not actually expressed any regret over the way she had treated me for my part in Henry's affair with Madge, right now, for the first time in months, her voice was tender and gentle. She wasn't ordering me to come with her, not really. I knew it was the best I was going to get. _

_I nodded and sank to the floor in a curtsy. "As you wish, Madam."_

"_Sister, Eleanor. Sister. I want you to call me Sister again. As you used to."_

_I kept my eyes down as I rose slowly to my feet. "As you wish…sister."_

_We rode out an hour later._

_

* * *

_

_Upon arriving, Anne played with her little daughter for a short while before ordering Lady Bryan to prepare her for a visit to Court. Lady Bryan nodded and took Elizabeth to the door, before Anne called her back. "Oh, Lady Bryan?"_

"_Yes, Your Majesty?"_

"_Send the Lady Mary to me, will you, please? I want to talk to her."_

_I'm sure Lady Bryan was surprised by Anne's request, but she was far too experienced a courtier to show her astonishment so she merely nodded and curtsied. "Yes, Your Majesty. I will do so at once."_

_Sure enough, Mary Tudor appeared at the door promptly. My heart went out to her. She was wearing a gown of black velvet – one which had clearly been washed once too often. Her hood too, was practically threadbare. In contrast though, she was wearing a gold cross studded with tiny rubies around her neck and the garnet brooch I had sent her over a year earlier glittered on the fabric of her bodice. Her demeanour too, was that of a Princess. She came forward and dipped a stiff half-curtsy to Anne. "Madam."_

_Then she rose, without waiting for Anne to grant her permission and inclined her head to me. "Lady Lincoln."_

_I smiled and Anne greeted her stepdaughter coolly, but without any overt show of hatred or even dislike. "Lady Mary. I trust you are well?"_

"_Well enough; thank you." Mary's tone was crisp. She hardly invited kindness, but I could understand her reaction. She was 19 and her beloved mother, who she hadn't even seen in almost five years, had just died in terrible circumstances. I think Anne understood it too, in a way, for she didn't reprimand Mary or complain that she wasn't treating her with the correct amount of courtesy. Instead, she merely pressed on. _

"_It must be hard for you; I mean with your mother the Princess Dowager dead. May I offer my condolences? If it is any consolation, I can assure you that His Majesty will have her buried as befits a Princess of Spain."_

"_You may convey my gratitude to my father. I am glad he recognises that the__ late __**Queen **__deserves nothing less, having been born to the Great Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand and having loved him with all her heart from the very first day she married him."_

_I thought Anne was sure to blow up at Mary for daring to refer to her mother as "Queen", and reached for her shoulder to steady her, but, much to my surprise and relief, she didn't. She merely closed her eyes and counted to ten._

"_However, even though you are grieving, there is some good news. I have spoken to your father and he is willing to accept you back at Court and give you a household of your own; as befits a King's daughter, if you will only accept that you are illegitimate and that Elizabeth has the rights to inherit England's throne, rather than yourself. Will you not do it? For your father's sake?"_

_Anne looked Mary straight in the eye as she pleaded with her. The latter drew herself up proudly._

"_It grieves me to have to say this, Madam, but I cannot do so. You are asking me to deny my late mother her rightful rank; to dishonour her before her very corpse is cold. Before she lies in the peace of consecrated ground. To say nothing of myself. Elizabeth is a sweet child and I promise you that I will never forget that she is my sister, but I cannot, in all conscience, accept her as heiress of England in my stead. Please convey my apologies to my father."_

_Anne sighed and got to her feet. "I see. If that's how you feel."_

_She was halfway to the door, when Mary continued "Would you do me a great favour, Lady Pembroke? Would you tell the King that, if he chose to remarry and had the good fortune to be blessed with a son, I would gladly accept a baby brother to be Prince of Wales?"_

_I caught my breath. Mary was openly slandering Anne and implying that she wasn't King Henry's lawful wife – to her face, no less. I am sure that, had Lady Bryan not fortuitously returned carrying the Princess Elizabeth and told her that the carriage was ready and that there were enough maids willing to ride our horses back to Court for us, then Anne would have whirled around and taken the Lady Mary to task for her words. As it was, however, she merely straightened her back and strode from the room without a second's thought._

_Lady Bryan scurried after her, leaving me alone with the Lady Mary._

"_Did you have to say that?" The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Mary turned to me, meeting my eye for the first time since she had come into the room._

"_Yes, I'm sorry, Lady Lincoln, but I'm not the only one who thinks it. It's true. In the eyes of the Church, my father is now a widower. Your sister and her daughter are nothing more than his mistress and his bastard."_

"_She was trying to help you! Can't you see that?"_

"_Maybe, but why? Because it's good for her image. Now she gets to cast herself as the kind stepmother reaching out to the poor disgraced Lady Mary. She's trying to cast me as the villain of this piece. Well, I won't let her. I won't let her, do you hear?"_

"_Mary! Please…I know it's hard for you, but can't you see she's suffering too? I understand how you feel about her having supplanted your mother, but please, you could try to be a little kinder to her sometimes. She genuinely wanted to help you there."_

"_I can't. I can't forgive her for having bewitched my father. But I appreciate that she is your sister and that you will stand by her, no matter what. I wish you wouldn't, but I won't hold it against you. She's certainly a strong…personality. I'm hardly surprised you have to stand in her shadow all the time. You haven't really much choice."_

_I opened my mouth to answer, but Anne called "Eleanor, are you coming? We need to leave. Now."_

_I glanced back at Mary. She nodded. "Go. Go, Lady Lincoln."_

_Impulsively, I stepped forward and briefly embraced Mary. "God bless you…Princess."_

_Then I stepped back, curtsied and left to find my sister and her daughter the Princess waiting in the courtyard._

_

* * *

_

_Back at Court, everything was a whirl of confidence and celebration. Princess Elizabeth went to a separate Mass to her parents, being paraded there to a fanfare of trumpets. The King ordered this, of course, to highlight the fact that he viewed her as his one and only true heiress. _

_After Mass, there was a party in the Great Hall, one which, despite the cold air, quickly spilled over into the gardens. _

_It was in the gardens that I came upon Father talking rather sharply to Anne._

"_You should never have let Lady Mary get away with talking to you like that. She clearly still thinks of herself as a lawful Princess. Tell His Majesty. Let him deal with the wench. Deal with her as befits her station and demeanour."_

_I thought he was right to say such a thing, even though it sent chills of fear down my spine for Mary, but Anne laughed it off._

"_Oh, forget Mary, father. What danger is she to me now?"_

"_She is the King's daughter, the people's figurehead. If we leave her alone, she will only continue to gather support. She must be dealt with; cast down so far that she can never rise again."_

"_Be quiet, Father." Anne hissed, glancing at the King, who was playing with Elizabeth and a number of other children not far away. _

"_No. It is only logic. She must be suppressed by any means necessary."_

"_They are not necessary." Anne beamed suddenly. "You have no need to worry at all. No matter what Mary threatens, there is good news all round. Katherine is dead and I... I am pregnant. Do you understand? I am carrying the King's son." Suddenly she started to dance, the skirts of her yellow dress flying out around her. "We are on the edge of a golden world!"_

_With that, she twirled off to join her husband and daughter in their game. _

_I watched her go, shaking my head in disbelief. Anne was impossible. You never knew what she was going to do or announce next. But that didn't matter. Not now. Not as long as she carried this baby to term. _

_Having reached this conclusion, I went in search of my husband and brother, to tell them the happy news as well._


	33. Fragile Security

_Chapter 33_

_Fragile Security _

_I caught up to my husband and brother by one of the out of the way trestle tables, where they were chatting aimlessly. _

"_Henry. George." I greeted them with a swift half-curtsy and a kiss to both their cheeks. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"_

"_Of course. What is it, my love?" Henry turned from the table, reaching for me. I allowed him to take my hand and press it to his cheek before stepping back. This was important news. I didn't want him distracting me. George kept looking the other way, but I knew he was listening – that it was just our intimacy making him uncomfortable, so I lowered my voice and leaned in, confiding in them what Anne had so recently announced to Father and me. _

"_Our royal sister is with child."_

_George whirled around. "Are you sure?"_

"_Yes. Anne's just told me herself. Father knows too. Isn't it wonderful?"_

"_Of course it is! I must go and congratulate our sister!"_

"_But George -" I reached out a hand to lay it on my brothers arm, trying to steady him. Though I naturally shared his joy – Anne was my sister too – given that no one else had yet congratulated her on her pregnancy and wished her well, I suspected that she hadn't yet told His Majesty or the rest of the Court. This meant that flaunting the news wasn't the best idea. Besides which, I was terribly conscious that Henry, my own husband, Anne's brother in law, hadn't yet professed any sort of joy at the news. Something had to be wrong. _

_George, however, was absolutely beside himself with joy._

"_No buts, Nora! This is the best news! The best! You do realise that England's Prince will have our blood – Our Boleyn blood? Don't you see that we'll be the relatives of the next King of England? We'll be invincible, I tell you! Invincible!" _

_With that, George gave me a hard, almost feverish, hug before flying off to our sister's side._

_I turned to my husband, intending to ask him why he looked so worried right now, when Anne was still secure as Queen and carrying His Majesty's child. _

_Before I could do so, though, he took my hand and pulled me out on to the dance floor, distracting me with the music and my own breathlessness. _

_By the time I recovered enough breath to feel in control enough to hold a serious conversation, Henry had vanished, leaving me standing there, cursing his ability to do that; to distract me and then leave an awkward conversation until he was ready to have it._

_

* * *

_

_So it went on for the next few days. Henry either refused to see me at all, citing long Council meetings as his excuse, or refused to talk about Anne and the delicate situation she was in._

_Instead, he tried to fob me off by talking of our own children, or how well his sister was doing at Court and how soon his father hoped to have her wed to Henry Clifford. Eleanor Brandon was almost 17, after all, and well ready for marriage. _

_Henry's tactics frustrated me to no end. I was 22, a quick witted woman, and mother to three beautiful children of my own. I wasn't a child to be petted and shielded from awkward talk. So one day, despite the fact that Henry's chosen topics did, to some extent, interest me, I resolved to have it out with him. _

_I strode into our chambers to find him in deep discussion with his valet. Dismissing the manservant with an imperious jerk of my head, I launched into my attack without giving Henry time to protest._

"_What on Earth is wrong, Henry?"_

"_What do you mean?" To his credit, he did at least attempt to look shocked and confused. Unfortunately for him, I was in no mood to fall for that trick. _

"_You know full well what I mean, _Lord Lincoln. _ You're keeping something from me. Something about Anne. Well, may I remind you that I am both her sister and your wife? That I am your _Countess, _not your child? I'm not blind; I can see for myself that Anne's relationship with His Majesty is precarious, despite her current condition. All I need you to tell me is the exact state of affairs. What is the King saying with regards to my sister?"_

_Henry flushed, glancing away from my angry gaze. "Nothing of importance." _

"_Don't tell me there's 'nothing of importance'!" I screamed, barely able to restrain myself from grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking it out of him. "You're not even looking at me! Look me in the eye and tell me!"_

_When I still didn't get an answer out of him, I glared at him, wounded._

"_I thought we were honest with each other, Henry. I thought you loved me enough to afford me that honour, at least." I murmured._

_Then I turned for the door._

"_Wait! Eleanor, wait!" Henry was after me in an instant. He caught me into his arms, pulling me to him._

"_All right. All right. I'll tell you. Just – shh. Peace, Sweetheart. Peace." _

_It was only then that I realised that I was fighting back tears. Tears of frustration, strain and anger._

_Henry took advantage of the fact that I had yielded to his hold to lead me to a comfortable chair. Seating himself near me, he placed a hand on my knee._

"_You ask me why I keep things from you, things about your sister. You ask why I do not rejoice in her pregnancy with the rest of you. Well, I'll tell you. It's because of what His Majesty says about the Queen. What my father says about the Queen."_

"_Why? What are they saying?" My voice was little more than a whisper. Henry sighed and beckoned me on to his lap. I shook my head. "Tell me."_

_With a scarcely repressed shudder, Henry did as I asked of him._

"_They're saying – the other courtiers, I mean – they're saying, oh God, Eleanor, I'm sorry, but they, my father among them, are saying that your sister entertains men in her chamber at night, when the King's not bedding her. That she has lovers. Countless lovers." At the look of revulsion on my face, Henry sighed. "There's more. They're even suggesting that the Princess Elizabeth isn't King Henry's daughter at all, but rather Henry Norris's."_

"_That's preposterous! Bessie's a Tudor through and through! Her hair's proof of that, if nothing else! What are they, blind?" Even despite the circumstances, I managed a weak chuckle at the absurdity of this claim. Henry exhaled slowly._

"_Whether they're blind or not, that's what they're saying."_

"_And the King? King Henry? Does he know of this? What does he say?"_

"_He knows nothing of it yet. But he himself has said, more than once, that if Anne fails to deliver a Prince this time around, she'll get no more boys from him. He's said it more than once, my love. More than once."_

"_What? You mean to say that he'd set her aside? My sister? The woman he moved Heaven and Earth to attain for himself? The mother to his daughter? The woman who sits beside him as Queen?" I could scarcely believe it._

"_He's done it once before." My husband reminded me. "And that was to a Princess of Spain, a woman born to be a Queen."_

"_You mean a woman with more power, more influence than my sister. A woman more beloved of the people." I murmured, trembling as the enormity of how fragile my sister's current security in the boy in her belly really was. My husband nodded, his handsome face twisted with agony as he saw in my eyes how shaken I was, how his revelations had cut me to the core. He reached for me and this time, I didn't resist, allowing him to pull me on to his lap and stroke my hair where it was escaping the confines of my hood as he went on. _

"_Yes. And if that happens, then we'll have to be prepared. Thankfully, you bear the name of Brandon, but your love for your sister is plain for all to see. She could easily drag you down with her. As she could the other Howards. I'm telling you, darling; if there's anyone you want to save from the fallout if things do go wrong for Anne, then seriously consider sending them from Court."_

_

* * *

_

"Consider sending anyone you want to save from Court." _ Henry's words rang in my ears constantly over the next few days. Ideally, of course, I would have liked to send him away, but he was the Earl of Lincoln. Questions would have been asked. _

_I didn't even consider leaving myself. Anne needed me. I wouldn't desert her now. Neither would George. As for our sister Mary, she was already gone, safe with her beloved husband, William Stafford. So who to send, or consider sending?_

_I puzzled over this for quite a while until, one morning, the answer burst upon me with almost frightening clarity._

_Kitty came running into Anne's rooms late one morning, babbling excitedly about the puppies she'd seen frisking about in the courtyard. I would have scolded her for being late, but then I saw how her chatter, childish though it was, made Anne smile and laugh; laugh like she hadn't laughed since we were two sisters basking in His Majesty's favour._

_In that instant, realised that Kitty, at 14, and a young, immature 14 at that, was still too young and innocent to deserve to be caught up in the possibly deadly intrigue surrounding my sister. After all, adultery in a Queen was treason and treason demanded the death penalty._

_Not that Anne was guilty, but if she didn't carry this Prince to term and His Majesty paid heed to the rumours; if she was charged, or worse still, convicted – well, I trembled to think what it would mean._

"_Kitty? May I speak to you?" I beckoned the younger girl to sit with me. _

"_Of course, Lady Lincoln." Leaving her sewing, Kitty joined me by the window._

"_I'm going to speak frankly, Kitty. Can I trust you?"_

"_I – Of course." Kitty nodded fiercely. Her hesitation, though, had frightened me._

"_No. More than that. This could be a matter of life or death, Kitty. Swear to me on the English Bible."_

"_On the Bible?" Kitty looked alarmed. She tried to recoil from me, but I grabbed her arm, preventing her from rising. "Swear to me!"_

"_I – I swear! On the Holy Bible! The English Bible!"_

"_Very Well." I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. "You know Anne is with child?"_

"_Who does not?" Kitty scoffed, and I had to agree. The formal announcement had been just two nights earlier. _

"_Yes, but things are not well between Their Majesties, Kitty. If the situation we find ourselves in gets much worse, I might have to ask you to leave Court."_

"_But…but why? It would mean I'd have to go back to Lambeth or Horsham. Ugh!" Kitty grimaced and shuddered violently and, for a moment, I felt sorry for her. The Dowager Duchess was not exactly a pleasant woman. Being under her control was quite probably horrible, particularly for a lively girl like Kitty. Going back to that, after almost three years at Court, would not be a nice thought. Then again, it was probably better than risking your life. _

_I stretched out a hesitant hand to Kitty and then withdrew it again, not really sure what I was doing._

"_I know, and I'm sorry for it. But ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. Just trust me, Kitty. I only want the best for you. Be prepared for the eventuality, please."_

"_Well, could I join your maids, rather than the Queen's? Please? Rather than go back to Lambeth or Horsham? Please?"_

"_I wish you could, but you're too highborn to be a Countess's lady. You're a niece of the Duke of Norfolk. Maybe one day when I'm Duchess of Suffolk. But not yet, I'm afraid. Now, will you please prepare to be ready to leave at a moment's notice?"_

"_Well…I mean…If you want me to, Lady Lincoln."_

_As Kitty spoke, I closed my eyes in relief. "Thank you, Kitty. I'll tell you when and if it's necessary."_

_I touched Kitty's shoulder, then rose, preparing to leave her. However, she spoke before I could do so._

"_But why all these precautions, Lady Lincoln? Eleanor, I mean it. What could happen? Anne's carrying the next King of England in her womb, surely?"_

_For a moment, I was reminded of myself as a child, asking Anne a similar innocent question,_"Do you mind having to go to Court with the express intention of seducing the King?"

_Except now, I was the one being asked. Kitty was the one waiting for an answer. Like Anne, all those years ago, I did not even bother to turn around as I answered._

"_The life of unborn and newborn children is a fragile thing, Katherine. It is best for us to be prepared for the worst. And remember, not a word of any of this to Anne. We don't want to distress her. It would be bad for the Prince she carries."_

_My voice sounded cold and void of reassurance and I knew it. Yet, since I could barely reassure myself that everything would be fine, how could I find any reassurance to give my young cousin? _

_Instead, I merely walked away, leaving her staring after my retreating back._


	34. Jane Seymour

_Chapter 34_

_Jane Seymour_

_The next morning, King Henry came in to see Anne, as he often did these days. I hoped it meant that he was still in love with her; I had to hope it for my sister's sake. I had to hope that the unborn Prince Anne was carrying in her womb was bringing them back together again, but I couldn't let myself believe that completely. The brevity of his visits was almost rude and his voice was always tense, as though he was constantly holding back irritation, irritation at Anne and her spirit. The same spirit he had once loved with such a passion._

_Anne, blind to the way he acted, was trying to hold him just the way she always did, with temper when he crossed her and then open devotion when he gave in. However, the behaviour, permissible, even perhaps endearing in a mistress, was not what King Henry wanted in a wife, particularly a pregnant one. He wanted her to stay calm and let the baby grow in her womb peacefully._

_This particular morning, however, he merely let her finish her tirade over not being able to see her little daughter Elizabeth often enough, for the child was to leave for Hatfield again that morning and then laid his hand on the swell of her belly._

"_I'll let her stay a little longer__, Anne, if that's what you want. She ought to be here more, you're right. She is our Princess."_

"_She ought to have a larger household too." Anne pointed out. "She'll be three in September. Isn't it time we started to consider the children who might become her companions some day? I know my sister has three children not far from Elizabeth in age. By the time she's five and old enough for lessons, the older two will be seven and five and Lady Anne Brandon will be three. They'd all get on very well, I've no doubt."_

_King Henry sighed. "We'll discuss this some day, Anne, but not just now. I'd rather talk about you. You and the Prince. You'll give birth in June. You ought to have a larger staff attached to your household. Some more ladies perhaps. Would you like that?"_

"_Why? I am perfectly happy with the staff I preside over at present. Or have you found another Howard that my Uncle wants a place for? You can tell him I have enough ladies at present and plenty of them Howards. I'm tired of him pushing them at me." Anne snapped. His Majesty's teeth clenched._

"_No. The girls I have in mind are not Howards. In fact, they possess no blood ties to the Howards at all. I am thinking of Jane and Elizabeth Seymour and their sister in law Anne Stanhope. I have already given their brothers, Thomas and Edward, the latter of which is married to Anne Stanhope, places in my own household, and I promised Sir John I would find places for his daughters in yours."_

_From where I sat discreetly in the corner, I saw Anne's spine grow rigid as she drew herself upright. Seymours were worse than Howards. They were our chief rivals for power at Court. Having three of them in her household, at the King's request, was not what she wanted, especially as it could only mean one thing – the King desired one of them. Which milksop it was remained to be seen, but it couldn't be Anne Stanhope. She was married and Henry Tudor wasn't such a fool as to go after a married woman. At least, he hadn't been such a fool as yet._

_That left either Jane or Elizabeth._

_My sister's eyes darkened and I could tell we were about to witness another fit of pique unless someone distracted her quickly. I nudged Nan Saville, who happened to be sitting next to me._

"_Say something. Quickly!"_

"_Why me?"_

"_Because I can't be seen to do it. I'm a Boleyn. You're not. Say something!"_

_With a sigh and an unsure glance at me, Nan spoke quickly before Anne could launch into another tirade._

"_That would be lovely, Sire. I'm sure we'll make the new ladies very welcome, won't we, Madam?"_

"_What?" Anne shook her head distractedly, before taking in Madge's words and pulling herself together with a strangled gasp of a breath. "Oh yes, of course, Madge."_

_King Henry nodded crisply. "Good. I'll send for them immediately. Until tomorrow, my lady." _

_Brushing his lips over Anne's hand as he rose and inclined his head to her, His Majesty strode from the room, parting a way through us as we all rose to sink into curtsies to him, the rustle of silks and satins the only sound in the lavish apartments._

"_How could he?" Anne's hoarse scream of frustration was almost like an explosion in the midst of the silence. "How could he? How could he tell me he was going to place three Seymours in my household? Without even asking me? What is this? Do I not even ha__ve a say in my own household now? I am the Queen of England!"_

"_Go for Mark Smeaton, Margaret. Music's the only thing that will soothe her now." I murmured a swift command to Margaret Wyatt and she nodded, hurrying to the door and disappearing through it__._

"_You are also his wife!"My hand found Anne's shoulder as I dismissed her other ladies with a jerk of my head. Kitty, sensing what I did not say, passed me a large silver backed brush as she went. Thanking her with a swift smile, I waited for Anne to respond to my touch by sinking into the nearest seat before unpinning her dark hair and coaxing the brush through it._

"_Sister. Sister. Calm yourself__. Please."_

"_How can I? When it is blatantly clear my husband is pushing his latest paramour into my service?"_

"_I doubt the Seymour sisters are much happier with the situation than you are." I remarked dryly, hoping to elicit a chuckle, however weak, from Anne. Instead, she sprang to her feet, eyes sparking._

"_Hold your tongue, Lady Lincoln! I might have known you'd never understand! You, with your wonderful husband who'd never dream of hurting you! With your gorgeous daughters who seem to be able to do no wrong! With your son, your beautiful healthy son!"_

"_Anne! Anne!" I held my hands up in surrender. "I know it's not easy for you! I know! I was only trying to make a joke!"_

_Suddenly, all the fight went out of Anne and she slumped back into her seat. "Oh sister. Forgive me. I just – I don't know what to do. If I could stop them coming; if I could know that this child was a son, then -"_

"_Then everything would be easy." I finished for her. "Then we Boleyns would be the be all and end all of the Court, forever and ever and you would be the most beloved Queen England had ever seen."_

"_Exactly. Is it too much to hope for?"_

"_Not if this child is a son. Which it will be, Anna-Maria. This child will be a son and His Majesty will return to you. Until then, you will simply have to grit your teeth and endure, I'm afraid."_

"_Like Katherine?"_

_To hear her predecessor's name on Anne's lips was such a shock to me that I nearly reeled backwards. It took me a few moments to be able to formulate an answer, during which time Mark Smeaton knocked on the door. Going to it, I stepped back and let him in, before catching Anne's eye over his shoulder and sighing. "Yes Madam. Just like Katherine."_

_

* * *

_

_Jane, Elizabeth and Anne Seymour soon joined Anne's household and within a couple of weeks, it was painfully clear that it was Jane who held His Majesty's heart. Before she had even come to Court, Cromwell had vacated his own chambers, leaving them free for the Seymours to use, something that they gloried in and paraded before the Court, for the rooms were connected to the King's own, which was an honour no other woman's family had had before, not even us, back in the days when Anne was the only woman Henry Tudor had eyes for. _

_True, that could have implied that either Jane or Elizabeth had enchanted His Majesty, but then there was also the matter of the golden sapphire locket. _

_I was sitting by the window sewing, while Anne was talking to Nan about Henry Norris's extended courtship of Madge. Nan was teasing her that Henry Norris would never marry Madge because he really had eyes for Anne herself and not Madge, when Anne suddenly froze, before raising a hand to stop her and rising from her seat. Following her with my eyes, I saw her walk over to the other corner of the room, where Jane Seymour sat, ostensibly sewing, but in reality toying with a jewel that was hanging around her neck._

"_What is that?" Anne's voice was cool and dangerously soft. Keeping her eyes modestly lowered, Jane refused to answer. Anne __waited irritably for a moment, then hissed "Come."_

_She marched back over to her chair and, reluctantly, Jane followed. Seating herself once more, Anne gestured for Jane to kneel before her._

"_Now, Mistress Seymour." Anne murmured, laying emphasis on the "Mistress", "I will ask you one more time. What is that?"_

_This time, Jane clearly thought it more prudent to respond, for she whispered "A locket, Your Majesty."_

"_Let me see it."_

_Silence._

"_Let me see it!"_

_Jane raised her head, slowly bringing the locket into Anne's sight and reach. Taking it into her hands gently, Anne regarded it briefly before saying "An expensive locket you have there, Mistress. Is it a family treasure?"_

"_No, Your Majesty. It was a gift."_

"_A gift, was it? From whom, I wonder? The King?" _

_Of course it was from the King. It could only have been from the King. No one else Jane knew had the means to give her such a locket as a gift. Anne's question was almost mockery, it was so pointless. Yet, again, Jane refused to answer._

"_I said, was it the King? Did the King give you this, Mistress Seymour?"_

_Eventually, Jane nodded wordlessly. Anne drew in her breath._

"_I see. And yet you think it a fit necklace to wear whilst attending upon your Queen?"_

_For once, Jane did not hesitate. Her head came up further, until her eyes met Anne's as she spoke._

"_I do, Madam, for I treasure it deeply. I treasure it as I treasure no other trinket. No matter how many more I may receive over the years, if they ever open my grave when I am dead, this will be the jewel they find hanging around my neck close to my heart." Jane's voice was s__oft, but there was the faintest hint of steel behind her quiet words. A few moments passed as Anne sized up the woman kneeling at her feet. All of a sudden, Anne snarled, breaking the spell as she wrenched the locket away from Jane's neck, snapping the golden chain as she did so._

_Jane gasped, clutching her slender throat, but Anne paid her no heed, simply glaring down at the miniature that was encased within the locket before tossing the jewel to the floor carelessly and walking away. _

_It was only later that I realised that she had cut herself by wrenching the locket from Jane's throat._

_

* * *

_

_The next morning, I rose earlier than necessary from bed, for I had been unable to sleep; only to lie there with my mind racing along familiar disturbing trains of thought – how precarious Anne's position was and how imperative it was that she give birth to a son._

_Pulling a morning robe on without my maid's assistance, I slipped from the room without awakening my husband and went to prowl the corridors of the Palace, for I was so restless that I could not sit still._

_As I passed the chapel, I realised the door was ajar and that someone was kneeling before the altar. Curious despite myself as to who else was awake at this early an hour, I slipped through the door and sat down in one of the back pews._

_The person kneeling did not even notice my presence. _

_I was just about to rise and leave again when they too finished their devotions and rose, throwing their features into illumination as they turned to face the door._

"_Mistress Seymour." I waited until Jane was level with me before addressing her. I had the pleasure of seeing her jump. "I am surprised to see you here."_

"_How so, Lady Lincoln?"_

"_I thought a woman as pious as you would have known that no amount of prayer can absolve you of your current sinful doings. Goodness knows my sister realised it."_

"_Lady Lincoln, I am sure I have no idea what you mean."_

"_You are doing what she did. You are taking His Majesty from his rightful wife."_

"_Lady Lincoln, you are quite mistaken. His Majesty may be paying court to me, but -"_

"_You are not discouraging him, Mistress Seymour. And in so doing, you are quite distressing my sister. Distressing her enough, in fact, that I sometimes worry that she will lose her child. His Majesty will not thank you if you cost England her Prince, you know."_

"_Lady Lincoln..." Jane tried again to talk to me, but I cut her off, tired of the conversation. "Enough. I have no more, save for this. My sister is not the nobody that you and yours seem to think she is. She is the Queen of England, and besides that, she is a Boleyn. As am I. We are both Boleyns and the Boleyns work together. So have a care, Mistress Seymour. Have a care."_

_With that, I went to the chapel door, before tossing a final piece of advice over my shoulder._

"_You'd better hurry, Mistress Seymour. I'm sure you still have to change, if you want to look your best for the King, and you don't want to be late for Mass."_


	35. The King's Accident

_Chapter 35_

_The King's Accident_

_It was quiet in Anne's rooms, for many of her ladies had asked, and been granted, permission to go and watch the jousting tournament that His Majesty had organised, despite the cold weather. Those of us who were left were following Anne's example and sewing, either altar cloths for the nearby churches or tiny garments for her coming child. Mark Smeaton stood to one side, sweeping a bow over the strings of his violin in a merry yet somehow restful tune. It was peaceful in a way it hadn't been for ages, and I was glad of it. Anne needed the peace. She needed to let this child grow strong and healthy inside her and stress wouldn't help that. I wasn't the only one who thought that either, for Madge leaned over to whisper to me "I'm glad these rooms are calm for once. Anne needs it."_

"_Yes. This child has to be a boy." I nodded._

"_It's a good thing Mistress Seymour isn't here then. You know her presence would only distress your sister."_

"_Yes. That's true, but I worry about where she actually is. Let's hope she's in the chapel as she said she would be, or watching the jousting. Anything, as long as she's not alone with the King."_

_Anne glanced across at Madge and I and I quickly bent my head to study my sewing. Anne didn't need to know what we'd just been discussing. It would only add to the pressure she was already feeling. _

_As it happened, however, my own concern for Anne's health and state of mind would soon be rendered useless anyway, for as I sewed determinedly, feeling Anne's black eyes boring into me, there came a knock at the door._

"_Get the door, would you, Madge?" Anne's eyes flickered briefly to our cousin before she went back to her sewing, not lifting her head until Sir Francis Weston's shadow fell across her work._

"_Sir Francis. What brings you here? I thought you were jousting with His Majesty." Anne smiled as she rose and extended her hand for him to kiss. As well she might. Francis was a close friend of our brother's and one of the few who remained truly loyal to Anne, even now. He always had a smile and a witty joke ready for her, no matter what the circumstances._

_Yet today, he wasn't smiling. Today he bowed over Anne's hand with the fluent grace of any courtier before raising grave, steely eyes to hers._

"_My Lady Queen, I -" Sir Francis paused to steady himself. He scarcely managed to choke out the words._

"_I regret to have to tell you that His Majesty King Henry has fallen from his horse and is grievously injured. It appears that he did not shut his visor properly."_

_My heart stopped. If the King was injured; if he died – _

"_My God!" The words slipped from my lips almost subconsciously; I heard myself utter them without realising that I meant to. Taking a swift look round the room, I realised that all Anne's other ladies were in the same state of catatonic shock._

_None of us knew what to say, what to do, what to think._

"_No!" Anne's cry broke into my trance. It was not the cry of a Queen of England; it was the cry of a woman whose husband was lying in mortal danger._

_I moved to go to her, as did Madge, but Mark Smeaton was there first. As Anne crumpled, he slipped his arms around her and let her weep into his shoulder. She clung to him as a drowning man would cling to a piece of driftwood._

_Madge and I glanced at each other, then, between us, wrenched Francis Weston, who had sunk to his knees by my sister, to his feet._

_We forced him towards the door, Madge berating him all the while. "Get out! Get out, you fool! The Queen should not have been distressed! Her child -" _

"_The King is unconscious, Lady Shelton. If he does not wake soon, the Physicians doubt that he will live another night."_

_At Sir Francis's words, even Madge was lost for words. Mother, who was half standing behind us, from where she had begun to rise out of her seat when Anne collapsed, spoke, summing up the turmoil of my thoughts and emotions in one single sentence "My God; what are we going to do?"_

_

* * *

_

_It soon became clear that there was nothing to do but to wait and pray. Anne fled into her bedchamber and the rest of us went back to our embroidery. We sewed at the altar cloths, at the baby clothes for the coming Prince, trying desperately to forget what we had just heard. It was impossible, though. The news was too grave. And anyway, though Anne's thick oaken bedchamber doors were firmly closed, we could hear the sounds of a woman's heartbroken sobs. _

_From time to time, Madge and I glanced towards them; once I even rose to go to her, but Mother stopped me. "Nay__, Eleanor. Leave her be. Your sister needs to rest, to gather her strength. After all, if all is well, she'll need to be ready to greet His Majesty in a manner befitting the Queen of England and if not, well, she'll have to be ready to break the news to the Court and the people as their Queen Dowager."_

_If I had had the slightest comfort ready to offer Anne, I wouldn't have listened to Mother and gone straight to my sister regardless, but not having any, I merely sank back into my seat with a resigned sigh. "Yes, Mother."_

_Nevertheless, when Margaret Wyatt called out "The King's litter's back!" I was among the first to leap up and go to the window._

_Madge and the others joined me, pressing eagerly against the glass panes of the casements as the litter bearers paced slowly and carefully across the courtyard below and entered the palace by one of the side doors._

_As soon as they had disappeared from sight, Madge pulled back. "I'm going to tell the Queen."_

_She shot towards Anne's bedchambers and I whirled around to face my mother. "George was with the King this morning. I'm going to find him. He might know more than we do."_

_Mother nodded. "Go."_

_Without another word, I flew from Anne's apartments and down the winding passageways to the King's._

_I came up to them just as George opened the door and came out. I dropped into a breathless curtsy._

"_What news, brother?"_

"_He's awake." George said shortly, pushing past me._

"_Oh, Thank God!" I crossed myself, flooded with relief that our prayers had been answered._

"_Yes." George strode on, not breaking stride. Alarmed at the terseness of his voice, I rushed after him._

"_What's wrong? The King's alive; surely that's a good thing."_

"_Do you recognise this?" Abruptly, George spun around and thrust a crumpled piece of linen into my hands. I knew what it was instantly._

"_Of course I do. Every one of Anne's ladies wears one."_

"_Look at the monogram. Look at the emblem; the family crest."_

_I turned the fabric over and smoothed it down with the flat of my hand. A phoenix looked back at me; a phoenix, not a falcon. Below it was the monogram J.S._

_Raising my head, I met George's eye, my mouth falling open. "Ah."_

"_He wore it in his breastplate. He said it was charmed; that it saved his life."_

_George was barely holding back his anger and desperation. I half reached for him with my free hand, but he stepped back, avoiding comfort. "Give it to me. I have to give it back to Mistress Seymour, with the King's warmest thanks and regards."_

"_I'll come with you." I was not going to make my brother go through this humiliating spectacle alone._

_

* * *

_

_George knocked on the door of the Seymours' apartments and Edward Seymour answered. "Yes, Boleyn?", he asked, barely bothering to mask his sneer as he addressed my brother. He didn't even acknowledge me. _

_I held out the crumpled favour. "The King sent us to return this to your sister, Master Seymour, along with his warmest thanks and regards."_

"_I'll see she gets it." Edward reached for the scrap of fabric, but I pulled it back. _

"_With all due respect, His Majesty would like us to hand it to her personally. No intermediaries." _

_I was stretching the truth; in fact I was lying. I had absolutely no idea what King Henry had said to George with regards to the favour, but suddenly, I wanted to see Jane, and I knew George would back me up._

_Edward Seymour looked from the one to the other of us, sizing us up. Then he stepped back reluctantly. _

_Without hesitation, George and I walked past him into the apartments._

"_My sister is at her pre dieu, praying for His Majesty. I will fetch her."_

_Edward marched out of the room and instantly, George caught my arm. "What are you doing, Nora?"_

"_Giving that milksop a piece of my mind." I replied, breaking off as Edward came back into the room, Jane trailing in his wake._

_Edward noticed George's grip on my arm and I pulled away, unwilling to let the Seymours see any discord between us. My brother, meanwhile, made a swift bow to Jane, saying "I am come to tell you that His Majesty is awake and in full possession of his senses, Mistress Seymour. He bade me return this to you, along with his warmest thanks and regards."_

"_Thank you, Lord Rochford. I am overjoyed to hear that His Majesty is himself again." Jane murmured, taking the proffered favour. As soon as she had it, George bowed again and made as if to leave, but Jane stopped him with a whisper. "Does…Does he blame me for what happened outside?"_

"_Not in the slightest, my lady." George inclined his head crisply and went to the door. I followed him, but at the door, I turned and looked back. Edward had gone, vanished into an adjoining chamber. Jane was alone where my brother had left, her hands running dreamily over the favour._

"_Enjoy your favour, Mistress Seymour." I spoke sharply, startling her. "You had better, for, because of you, my sister has just suffered the shock of her life. If King Henry had not wanted to impress you, he would never have held that jousting tournament in this weather. He would never have fallen from his horse. As it is, he has and you, you had better pray that you haven't just cost England a Prince."_

_Then, leaving Jane speechless, I strode from the room, taking my brother's arm as I went back to attend to my sister, the Howard Queen of England._


	36. Disaster

**I don't own what you recognise. Showtime does. Though can anyone own history?**

_Chapter 36_

_Disaster_

_Two or three weeks after the King's accident, Anne decided she would take a walk in the gardens, despite the threatening sky and sent Nan to enquire of His Majesty whether he would care to join her._

_I hardly think any of us expected the King to agree, but the curt denial, when it came, still stung, even though he dressed it up in pretty words for the sake of courtesy towards his pregnant wife, excusing himself on account of the old jousting wound on his leg, which had been reopened in his fall and wishing Anne a pleasant morning and walk nevertheless._

_Another person stayed behind as well. Mistress Seymour. She pleaded a headache and Anne, unwilling to spend any more time in her rival's company than she had to, granted her the morning off her duties without needing much persuasion._

_If only she hadn't! If only Jane had come with us and not stayed behind in her rooms; Cromwell's old rooms. We might have been spared the horrifying drama that unfolded merely hours later._

_As it was, however, she did stay behind, much to His Majesty's pleasure, I might add. I know because I saw them._

* * *

_Because of the cool wind in the gardens, Anne, wanting to stay warm for the sake of the child, sent me running back to the palace for another fur lined wrap. I slipped into her rooms and found the required article of clothing easily enough, but decided, since Anne had been walking towards the fountain, to hurry down the back stairs past Cromwell's old rooms and rejoin the others that way._

_Passing the rooms in question, I saw that the outer door was ajar. Upon reaching it, intending to close it, I spotted the King inside. He was sitting in an armchair by the fire, with a woman behind him, massaging his shoulders. Her face was thrown into shadow by the firelight, but I didn't need the King's loud whisper "Jane, your hands are truly like ambrosia; their touch is so welcome." to tell me who it was. Of course it was Mistress Seymour. These, the closest rooms to the King's, were her family's rooms now. _

"_Your Majesty is too kind. Should I leave you now or can I be of any other service?" Jane's soft whisper, though it sounded poisonous to me, was clearly music to King Henry's ears._

"_Henry, please, sweet Jane. Call me Henry." With a deep groan of a sigh, he reached up, pulling Jane down on to his lap._

"_Oh that I could have you this close to me forever." he murmured throatily, his voice thick with desire._

_I didn't wait to hear Jane's reply. The little of their conversation I had witnessed was already making me nauseous. _

_Swishing past the rooms with all the pride of a Boleyn, I ran to find the others, silently resolving to keep Anne from going up those stairs at all costs._

_Unfortunately, the weather didn't comply with my wishes. Not long after I had helped my sister into her extra layer, the heaven opened and a downpour began, drenching us all._

"_Inside. Now." Mother hustled us all towards the nearest door to the palace, which led to the back stairs by Cromwell's rooms. As we passed them, Anne, who had handed her wet outer layers to some of the other ladies surrounding her, called to me "I hate to bother you again, sister, but would you fetch the shawl that I left in His Majesty's rooms the other day? I don't want to catch a chill."_

_Reluctant to intrude upon such a scene as the one I would most likely find in those adjoining rooms to King Henry's, the ones I would have to pass through in order to find the shawl Anne wanted, I hesitated._

"_What's wrong? Intimidated by the thought of His Majesty's rooms?" Anne teased. "Very well, I'll fetch it myself."_

_She pushed past me before I could stop her, leaving me powerless to do anything as she threw the door open._

_I only moved when she screamed._

_Rushing to her side, I held her upright as her knees buckled, watching as King Henry and Jane Seymour sprang apart, both reddening as they realised that we had all caught them with their lips so firmly entwined. His Majesty waved Jane away and she scurried out as he came to Anne's side, taking her from me and cradling her to him even while she railed at him._

"_Just when my belly is doing its business, I find you wenching with Mistress Seymour! Have you no shame, Henry?"_

"_Hush, Anne. Hush. Calm down, sweetheart. Please. It was just one kiss. It meant nothing. Calm yourself. For the sake of our Prince. Please."_

_From the look on Anne's face, I knew the soothing words were too late, too meaningless. She'd been stabbed in the heart like never before. Even if she didn't lose this Prince with the shock, she'd never trust the King again._

_Yet she relaxed in his arms enough to let him carry her to her rooms, the rest of us scuttling in the wake of his long strides._

_Suddenly I felt a hand enclose my arm in a vice like grip, pulling me away from the group._

"_Your sister's finished!" Charles Brandon glared down at me in the shelter of the alcove he had wrenched me into. I struggled against his iron hold._

"_Let me go!"_

"_No. Your sister's finished, Eleanor. She'll never hold her throne now."_

"_You don't know that!"_

"_She's lost two boys already. Henry's out of patience."_

"_Not if she keeps this one! If she keeps this child and delivers him safely, then she's safe forever."_

"_And what are the chances of her keeping this one? After the Joust? After this morning? No. I tell you now, Eleanor, your sister's Prince is destined to never breathe in this world. Anne is the fallen star now."_

_My father in law glanced me up and down before continuing "If you and Henry didn't have a son; if George hadn't been born; if Margaret and Anne were your only children, I'd have your marriage annulled."_

"_On what grounds?" I challenged. "Henry would never let you."_

"_I'd find some pretext. And believe you me, my son would do as he was told. As it is, it's high time you started to act like you think yourself a Brandon. I need you to befriend Jane Seymour."_

"_The woman who constantly causes my sister such distress? The thorn in her side? Never!"_

"_Jane Seymour will be England's Queen before the autumn. I suggest you watch what you say, because like it or not, you'll do as I say and befriend her."_

"_You don't know that! Anne's child survived one shock with his father's accident. He's already shown us that he's a strong Prince. He may yet survive another. That's my final word. Now if you'll excuse me, the __**Queen**__ needs me._

_I finally pulled away and spun on my heel, stalking off._

* * *

_Anne was sleeping when I reached her rooms. _

_Still trembling from my encounter with the Duke of Suffolk, I flung myself into a chair and tried to attend to some sewing, but it was useless. I was far too angry._

_Finally giving up, I had risen from my chair and was halfway to the door, intending to change into my riding habit and go for a gallop across the fields to release some of my inner tension, when we all heard the sound that we had been dreading. Anne's piteous screams._

_Madge was across the room in a flash._

"_I'm going for Dr. Linacre."_

_I nodded, but as soon as I saw Anne for myself, lying curled up in an ever widening pool of blood, I knew it was hopeless. We'd never save this Prince. Try as we might, he was gone. My sister, however much I hated it, had miscarried of her saviour._

_The King came to see Anne within the hour. _

"_They tell me you have lost my boy."_

_There was no kindness in his voice whatsoever. All Anne could do was nod mutely, begging him with her eyes to comfort her. The lost Prince had been her boy too._

"_You promised me a boy. I tore my country apart for your boy. But I see now that God will not grant me male children."_

_King Henry whirled around and went to the door, barely sparing me a glance as he passed, though we were once such close friends._

"_You have no one to blame but yourself for this." Anne's voice was hollow, but it had the desired effect. It stopped His Majesty dead in his tracks._

"_I lost our boy because I was distressed to see you with Mistress Jane Seymour. Because the love I bear you is so great that it broke my heart to see you love others. It physically hurts to see you in the arms of another woman."_

_For an instant, something flickered in Henry Tudor's eyes. An ember of pity or passion, perhaps? But then he set his jaw and hardened his heart._

"_I cannot speak of it; the loss is too great. I will speak with you when you are well, Madam."_

_He left Anne's bedchamber without another word, leaving her crying bitterly, absolutely awash with tears and me doing my best to ease her pain and comfort her, as any good sister should._

* * *

_Though I myself had resolved to stay at Anne's side, no matter what fate threw at us, the Boleyn sisters and our beloved brother, I knew I couldn't ask that of everyone. In fact, in some cases, it was definitely best to spare them the pain and stigma that came from being too closely associated with my elder sister these days._

_To this end, I sought out young Kitty Howard after supper._

"_Kitty? Do you remember that I once told you that I might have to ask you to leave Court?"_

"_Yes, Lady Lincoln. I do. Should I... is it that bad?"_

"_I'm afraid so. Anne is very insecure right now. If we Boleyns want to keep anything of what we've gained over the last ten years, then we're going to have to fight; fight with everything we've got. You need to get out of here. Now."_

"_But why? Let me stay and help. Please. I love the Queen. She's my cousin. I don't want anything to happen to her."_

_I smiled wanly at Kitty, touched by her loyalty._

"_And that's precisely why she doesn't want you hurt. Trust me. You're too young to deserve to get caught up in all of this. Please. Just go."_

"_But...I need Her Majesty's permission."_

"_I'll think of something to tell Anne. Just pack your things and leave. I want you gone by tomorrow night. Promise me."_

_Kitty opened her mouth to protest, but I spoke with such finality that she couldn't. In the end, she merely nodded in silent accord._

_Stepping forward, I wrapped her in a fiercely grateful embrace._

"_Thank you, Katherine. God Bless you, Cousin. God Bless you."_


	37. Evil May Day

_Chapter 37_

_Evil May Day_

"_Eleanor? Are you ready to take your place in the Royal Box" Henry's voice broke into my concentration and I started as my maid tried to put a simple silver necklace around my throat. Before she could drop it, I took the chain into my own hands and shut the clasp myself, for the trinket was precious to me, being a gift Henry had given me to mark George's baptism._

"_Almost." Finishing the outfit with a string of jade chips in my hair, I rose quickly, smoothing down the skirts of my lace gown._

_Most people would scorn lace as being too simple for a lady of the Court and a Countess at that, but I disagreed. I thought it beautiful, especially for a celebration such as May Day. _

_And I think Henry agreed. He gasped as he saw the pale green lace billowing around me._

_Flashing him a halfway coquettish smile, I took his arm. "Will I do, do you think?"_

"_Do? You're beautiful, love. My love. My Queen of the May and the Summer Sun."_

"_Duchess of the May and the Summer Sun." I protested. "My sister's the Queen."_

_Henry's mouth tightened at my words. "There's something I ought to tell you, Eleanor."_

"_What?"_

_At that moment, however, a distant horn blew in the Courtyard. The May Day Joust was about to begin._

"_Later. I'll tell you later. It's time I was suited up."_

_Henry pressed a fleeting kiss to my lips and another to my hand and was gone, leaving me to pick up my skirts and dash to join the King, Queen and other ladies in the Royal Box._

* * *

_My sister and the King were already seated when I reached the Box. I curtsied to them both. "Your Majesties."_

"_Sister." Anne smiled at me, but His Majesty seemed distracted. He barely nodded at my greeting and he didn't enter into our playful banter as he would have done in former times._

"_So, ma petite soeur, who do you favour to take the overall honour of winning the day?"_

"_My heart tells me Henry Brandon, Sister, but my head tells me the Duke of Suffolk. No one, save His Majesty here could ever hope to unseat a horseman of his skill and experience."_

"_Really? You don't think our brother George stands a chance? Your Boleyn loyalty is indeed weakening."_

"_I hope you don't expect me to favour our idiot of a brother over the knight who captured my heart when I was thirteen and has held it in the palm of his hand ever since." I teased back, just as Henry rode up and held out his lance to me. "My Lady Lincoln."_

"_My Lord. May Lady Fortune smile on your endeavours this fine morning." I replied, before tying my silver hair ribbon to his lance, leaving my hair free to ripple in the wind as the band of precious stones at my temple gleamed in the sunlight. I ought to have had a hood on, but it was so hot that I had discarded propriety just this once, however dangerous that might be._

_Returning to my seat amongst the whispers as people became aware of it, I could feel the tension radiating from my sister, even as she forced a smile for the benefit of the people watching._

_I didn't blame her. In the weeks and months following her last miscarriage, we Boleyns had been walking on eggshells around the King. Something ominous was brewing but none of us knew what. We could only wait and watch, fearing the consequences._

_Still, the first part of the joust passed off well enough and, despite everything, I found myself enjoying the thrill of the passes and the skill of the riders, particularly since my husband was doing well. _

_But when Sir Henry Norris rode up to ask for my sister's favour, the fragile peace created by the jovial mood of the day was shattered._

_As Anne leaned over the balcony to hand him the ribbon that had been hanging from her waist, she dropped the glove she had been holding in her other hand. _

_Fluttering down, it caught on the pommel of Sir Henry's saddle._

"_Oh! My glove! Hand it to me, if you please, Master Norris." Anne held out her hand, half-imperious, half-smiling. But Henry Norris refused, instead securing it to his weapon belt and saying, in a voice that carried around the Tiltyard "If you smile on me enough to grant me twice your usual favour, Madam, then I am sure that I shall have twice my usual fortune, for my fortune seems inextricably linked to your favour."_

_A half-stifled gasp ran round the Tiltyard at his words, as people looked askance at each other. The King rose abruptly as soon as Norris had ridden off, having first swept my sister the bow that a Queen of England deserved._

_Anne half-rose as well, calling "Sire? Are you not well? My Lord?"_

_He didn't look back and she made as if to follow him, but I forced her back into her seat. "You can't leave! If you leave, the Boleyns are lost. You have to go on, pretending he's beside you, pretending nothing is amiss."_

"_How can I do that when I'm sweating with fear?" she retorted._

_Realising she was right, I used Nan's handkerchief to wipe her brow, hissing "You can do it because you are Anne Boleyn. Because you are a Queen, a woman and a Howard. That's three reasons for being the most deceitful creature that God ever put on this Earth. Now do as I say and lead this Court like a Queen. Like the Princess Dowager used to do."_

_At the sound of her most hated rival's name, Anne's spine stiffened. She drew herself up and did what I asked of her. But it cost her. I knew it cost her and hated myself for it. But there hadn't been anything else I could do. _

_Like Anne and all the rest of our faction, I was down to my last desperate throws of the die. I just hoped it would be enough to turn this nightmare of a situation around._

* * *

"_Bring me my daughter."_

_Later that day, Anne had changed her gown from the ceremonial one she had worn to the joust and looked more like an ordinary woman than a Queen, but the hard edge to her voice as she asked for her little girl was impossible to gainsay. Madge hurried from the room and returned a few minutes later, carrying my goddaughter._

_Anne wrapped Elizabeth in a summer cape with trembling hands before hoisting her - our -Howard Princess into her arms. _

"_Where is the King?"_

"_In the gardens. But Madam…"Margaret Wyatt trailed off as Anne strode to the door._

_I sprang up to open it and heard her murmur "If I can only see the King. He'll listen to me. He'll have to. For the love of Elizabeth, he'll have to."_

_The look she threw me as she passed stopped me from following her, though I desperately wanted to. Instead, I watched from the windows as she chased King Henry down one of the garden paths, struggling under Elizabeth's weight._

_Her hair, usually so immaculate, began to escape the confines of her hood. _

_The hem of her dress dragged in the dirt. _

_But Anne paid it no heed. She who had once embodied desire so completely now looked the very image of desperation. _

_I couldn't hear what she said to His Majesty, nor he to her, but I saw him shove her away angrily and stride off without a backward glance. I saw Anne crumple to the ground; saw her bury her face in little Elizabeth's hair._

_Without needing to be told, I knew she was crying. She was my sister. I knew everything about her._

_At the sight of her, tears came to my eyes. It really was the most evil of May Days for us Boleyns._


	38. Anne's Arrest

_Chapter 38_

_Anne's Arrest_

_I had barely reached Anne's rooms the following morning when we heard footsteps in the passage outside and Charles Brandon burst into the outer chamber where we were sitting, accompanied by a dozen guards in smart scarlet livery._

"_Your Grace, what is the meaning of this?" Anne gasped, trying to act the part of the regal Queen._

_Her composure, however, was rudely shattered when my father in law unrolled a scroll of parchment and thrust it beneath her nose._

"_This, Madam, is the warrant for your arrest. You are charged with committing adultery with Mark Smeaton, Sir Henry Norris, Sir Francis Weston and Sir William Breteron. You are also charged with committing incest with your brother, Lord Rochford."_

_At his last words, I felt the colour drain from my cheeks. The adultery charge, well, try as I might to ignore them, I had heard the rumours; it was impossible not to, but incest? I hadn't thought Henry Tudor would stoop that low._

_It was true Anne and George were close; so close I had once been envious of their closeness, but they weren't __**that**__ close. He wouldn't be able to prove it. Would he? Would he? Suddenly, I was no longer quite so sure. There was no doubt that Henry Tudor was a lion of a King and, when the lion knows his own strength…_

_My mind was in such turmoil that I scarcely heard the Duke of Suffolk's next words._

"_I am commanded to see you taken to the Tower, there to be held, tried and sentenced at His Majesty's pleasure. You may choose two ladies to accompany you and others will be provided once you reach the Tower."_

"_The King is most gracious." Anne's voice, though shaky, held a note of strength that I hadn't heard it hold since Elizabeth was born._

"_You may tell His Grace of my gratitude and convey to him that I choose Lady Lincoln and Mistress Wyatt to attend me in the Tower."_

_At the sound of my name, I forced some strength into my trembling legs and moved to stand at Anne's shoulder, glancing up at my father in law to see how he took the news, particularly when Anne flashed him a look that, despite everything, somehow still smouldered with triumph. A look that seemed to say "See? Eleanor is still my sister before she is your daughter. We are the Boleyns and nothing can ever come between us, because the Boleyns work together."_

_He didn't take the news well. His jaw clenched with fury._

"_If that is your pleasure, My Lady." he ground out, before dragging me to the door, out of Anne's earshot._

"_Are you going to go with her? After everything? Does this not tell you, once and for all, that she's lost?"_

"_Of course I'm going with her. Innocent until proven guilty, __**my Lord**__**Father. **__ And even if Anne __**was **__guilty of adultery, which I __**know **__she is not, I would still go with her. She is my older sister and I love her above all others on this Earth, except perhaps my husband."_

_The Duke tried to interrupt me, but I gave him no chance to, pressing on "As for the incest charge, well, surely even you can see that is preposterous! Surely you know my sister well enough by now to know that Anne would never – __**never **__– betray His Majesty and certainly not with our brother! She is not Satanic!"_

"_Others might not agree with that assessment." Charles Brandon's voice was cool._

_Before I could come up with a suitable response, he inclined his head and left me, forcing me to drop a half-curtsy and begin to pack up both my own things and Anne's for our move to the Tower._

* * *

_The river gleamed like a silver florin under the barge as we glided from Greenwich to the Tower._

_If I had seen the Tower, I had seen it a thousand times, I had seen it a thousand times, but it had never seemed as threatening as it did at that moment when we slid to a gentle halt by the lower landing stage. The effect was only reinforced when, half rising, I caught sight of the lettering etched into the wooden gates we had just passed through. Traitor's Gate._

_My mouth went dry. Traitor's Gate. The gate that countless men and women had slid through before us, but that so few had slid out of again._

_Anne's eyes found mine as her head turned. Allowing our gazes to lock, I saw the raw terror lining every inch of her features, taking it in within the space of one long moment, always knowing that it was reflected in my own._

_A fierce childish urge to take her hand; to plead with her to make it all right again, as I had done to both her and Mary countless times over the years, filled me and it took all the strength of mind I possessed not to act upon the impulse._

_Thankfully, Master Kingston, Warden of the Tower, cleared his throat just then, directing our attention elsewhere._

"_This way, My Lady."_

_Anne nodded, stepping off the barge in his wake, prompting Margaret and I to follow. The moment we were both on dry land, the grim-faced soldiers who had accompanied us thus far pushed off again, not looking back, not even when Anne called after them, entreating them to assure the King of her constant goodwill towards him and her hope that he would, even now, heed her pleas for mercy._

_Once they were gone, there was nothing for us to do but to follow Master Kingston. _

_Anne staggered as she did so, worn out with fear and exhaustion. Master Kingston caught her, set her upright and then gallantly offered her his arm. Anne accepted it gratefully, letting him escort her to a very familiar set of rooms, though they had now fallen somewhat into disrepair._

_Her old suite of Coronation rooms._

_At the sight of them, Anne fell back in shock, murmuring "My God. These rooms are far too good for me."_

"_Nonetheless, they are the rooms that I was ordered to make ready for you, Madam." Master Kingston replied. "I trust you will find everything to your satisfaction. My wife Lady Kingston will be along shortly to attend you."_

_With a crisp nod, Master Kingston left, brushing past Margaret and I in the doorway. Margaret whispered a "thank you" but I let him go without a word, for I did not trust my voice._

* * *

_Anne sank into a chair beneath the window and didn't move for several hours, even though Margaret, Lady Kingston and I bustled around her, setting the rooms to rights._

_At last, fearing for her sanity if she withdrew into a shell, I went over to her._

"_Anne? Your Majesty? Is there anything I can get you?"_

"_George." Anne's voice was so soft that I scarcely heard her at first and, when I did, for one horrible moment, I feared that her mind had given way; that she was hallucinating._

_But then Anne moistened her lips and her voice strengthened a little._

"_George? What happened to him? Is he here? Or is he safe?"_

"_I don't know. I honestly don't know."_

_Taking Anne's hand, I refused to tell her what I truly thought; what I had heard rumoured in the Court the day before. That George, along with Mark and Sir Henry Norris and William and Francis, had been taken to the Tower directly after the May Day Joust._

_Instead, I swallowed the painful words, ignoring the way that they stuck in my throat, assuring Anne that I would find out for her, if she wished it._

"_Please. And Elizabeth. My Elizabeth. Swear to me that you will look after Elizabeth. My Elizabeth. My little Lisabelle." Anne's voice cracked._

_I couldn't help myself. Scorning protocol, I pulled Anne into my arms and held her._

_She clung to me like a child, all her former poise and elegance gone as she sat in fear of her life._

"_It won't come to that. It won't."_

"_I asked Matthew Parker to do it, but he's only a chaplain. And a Reformist chaplain at that. If Henry goes back to…"_

"_He won't. His pride won't allow it."_

"_Still, you're the Countess of Lincoln; the next Duchess of Suffolk. You and your Henry will be so powerful one day. If you sheltered Elizabeth…"_

"_It won't come to that."_

"_It might. Please. Think how you'd feel, if it was you in my shoes, if it was Margaret or George or Anne we were talking about."_

"_Say no more, Anne. I'll do it. You know I'll do it. I'd do anything for you, Sister. My beautiful falcon of a sister. But come, you need to rest. I'll fetch you a sleeping draught."_

_Kissing Anne's brow, I made to rise, but her hand shot out, trapping my arm in a grip of iron. I yelped despite myself._

"_You didn't swear to me. Swear to me. Swear to me on something that matters."_

_I turned back to her, desperate to calm her. _

"_Anna-Maria Jane Boleyn, listen to me. I swear to you, both on Tynedale's English Bible and my love for Sir Henry Brandon, Earl of Lincoln, that, no matter what, I will care for your daughter Elizabeth. I will love her as though she were my own. But it won't come to that."_

_Even to me, the last sentence rang hollow. Still, I locked gazes with Anne once more, willing her to believe me; to trust me as she always had before._

_Suddenly, her grip on my arm slackened as she slumped, shattered once again._

"_Thank you, Sister. Thank you a thousand times over."_

_There was nothing I could say in the face of such heartfelt relief and gratitude. I merely dipped my head and went to fetch the sleeping draught I had promised her. Anne needed to rest. I knew she did. No matter how much she fought it, I could see it._

_Just as, if I had stayed by her side even a moment longer, she would have seen the tears that I was fighting to keep from falling._


	39. Final Cards

_Chapter 39_

_Final Cards_

_At the touch of Margaret Wyatt's hand on my shoulder, my eyes flickered open. For one brief second, as I took in my surroundings, I thought I was back in the golden period before my sister's coronation and a surge of proud contentment filled me._

_But as I rose and saw Margaret laying out the underskirts to a sombre dark blue gown, the sad truth crashed over me._

"_I'd better wake her, hadn't I?"_

"_Hmm. She can't afford to be late."_

_Our eyes met for a moment, expressing all we wanted to say and yet couldn't find the words for._

_Then, tearing myself away, I went in to wake my sister and prepare her to go to court and defend her marriage to the King of England…and her life._

* * *

"_Queen Anne Boleyn, come into Court!" _

_At the summons, my sister walked into the courtroom, head held high. I carried her train and, once she was in her designated place, curtsied to the dais, though it was still empty, rose and walked back to take my place beside my husband as Countess of Lincoln._

"_Henry." I curtsied to my husband, who pulled me up and crushed me to him._

"_Eleanor. How are you, my sweet?"_

"_I'm fine. Or as fine as I can be, anyway. I just wish this was over."_

"_I think we all wish that. It's a terrible business." Henry sighed, still not releasing me. It was as though, now that he had me safely back in his arms, he could not bear to let me go._

_And to be honest, I needed the feel of his arms around me just as much as he needed to hold me. Leaning back against his waist, I relaxed into his hold, only to stiffen once more as the herald cried "Sir George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford, come into Court!"_

_My brother came in much as Anne had done, with his head held high and a jaunty determined step._

_As he passed me, he even managed a smile, but I, my hand clenched on Henry's wrist, could not find it in me to smile back at him. The situation was too grave for that._

_As soon as my brother had taken his place, the judges filed into the courtroom. To my horror, Anne's former lover, Sir Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, was among them._

_If it was possible, he looked even worse than the last time I had seen him. He walked hunched over, clutching his stomach as though it was paining him, and his skin was so pale that he looked like death warmed up. I just hoped it wasn't an omen for my brother and sister._

_Yet he looked so terrible that I could only pity him, instead of hating him, as I did the other peers who had agreed to pass judgement on my siblings._

_When he stopped to speak to me, I gave him my hand to kiss without hesitation._

"_Lady Eleanor Boleyn, is it not?"_

"_Brandon, my lord. I am married to Sir Henry Brandon." I gestured to my husband and the two men exchanged formal bows before Sir Henry Percy turned back to me._

"_But you are Anne's sister."_

"_Yes."_

"_I remember. You came to me. That night in Temple's Bar."_

"_Yes." There was no point in denying it. It was true, after all, and besides, my husband, who was the only person in the courtroom whose good opinion I actually desired, had known for years. We had no secrets in our marriage._

"_I told you then that I would do anything for Anne. I still stand by that. I would even risk the King's wrath." Henry Percy whispered. It took me a moment to process what he meant; when I realised, a shudder passed through me._

"_No! Sir Henry, please! Don't!"_

"_Why not? I am the Earl of Northumberland. If I find your sister and brother to be innocent, we might yet sway the others."_

_I closed my eyes as a surge of deliciously golden hope swelled in my breast. Was it possible? But then cold common sense prevailed. I couldn't ask that of a sick man. I shook my head._

"_You are not the King, Sir Henry. The King wants my sister dead." Cold as the words were, even as I spoke them, I knew they were true._

_"This court has been ordered to find my sister guilty, with or without you. You would not change anything. Do not bring the King's wrath down on yourself for this."_

"_I am prepared to risk it. I do not care."_

"_Maybe not. But Anne would, if she knew. She has always thought kindly of you, my Lord Northumberland. Always. Do not burden her further with having your plight on her conscience. She is distraught enough over Elizabeth as it is."_

_Henry Percy glanced at my husband and then back at me. "Very well, Lady Lincoln. You have convinced me. But know this. Any friend of Anne's is a friend of mine. If you ever need a place to escape to that won't be full of memories, my home is open to you and yours and shall be so long as I live."_

"_Thank you, Sir Henry." My husband spoke before I could. "Thank you. But you must take your place on the Bench now. You have tarried with us long enough."_

"_You are quite right, Lord Lincoln. Good day."_

_Bowing to Henry and kissing my hand once more, the Earl of Northumberland hurried to his seat. He had scarcely taken it before Uncle, in his capacity as head of the judges, began to question my sister._

_Sensing my tension, Henry forced me into a seat and then sat down on the bench beside me, slipping his hand into mine to try to comfort me. However, he placed his feet firmly on my skirts where they brushed the ground. Given the measures he was taking to prevent it, he evidently didn't trust me not to spring to my feet, whether I meant to or not._

"_Do you, Anne Boleyn, deny that you have lain with and had carnal knowledge of Sir Henry Norris, Sir William Breteron, Mark Smeaton and Sir Francis Weston?"_

"_Of course I deny it, Uncle. As God is my witness, I swear that, in all my 28 years on this Earth, I have known no other man save His Majesty. I love His Majesty heart and soul and I swear I would never betray him." Anne's voice was strong, clear and true._

"_Do you, Anne Boleyn, deny that you have committed incest with your brother, Lord Rochford, in a plot to bear a child and pass it off as King Henry's, thus placing an unroyal bastard child in line for the throne?"_

"_Of course I deny it." If Anne's voice had been strong before, now it was outright defiant._

"_The love I bear for my brother is – oh! – so very great, but it is the natural love that any sister would have for a brother whom she has played with as a child, shared joys and sorrows, nursed when sick. I would never seek to climb into his bed. The very thought sickens me."_

"_Do you, Anne Boleyn, deny having ever said that His Majesty King Henry lacks the potency to beget an heir?"_

"_If I ever said so, then it was either when I was in a fever-induced delirium or when I was in fear of my life and you are sadly misconstruing justice, my lords, if you take that as damning evidence against a defenceless woman." Anne stared Uncle down until, seeing that he had got everything that he would get from her, he turned to our brother._

_George fended off the questions thrown at him with wit, skill and grace until they asked him if he had ever slandered the King's potency. Then, for the briefest second, he paused._

_His dark eyes caught first mine, then Anne's. In that instant, I knew he knew that Anne would never be let off, no matter how eloquently she defended herself. I knew what he was going to do. And, despite myself, despite what it meant, I admired him for it._

_Anne knew too. Even before the words "Aye, my Lords. I have, so help me God." were out of his mouth, she was on her feet, evading her guards and flying towards him. "George!"_

_He caught her in the fiercest embrace any of us had ever seen. "Anna-Maria! My Queen Anna-Maria!"_

_Tight in each other's arms, they murmured their love for one another, even as the jury pronounced them both guilty and then turned to me, eyes begging for forgiveness. _

_I gave it to them. I gave it to them even as hot tears spilled down my cheeks. Then Anne glanced towards the dais, half-curtsied and said, voice ringing. "My Lords of the Jury, I ask that you __commend me to his Majesty and tell him that I love him dearly and that I thank him from the bottom of my heart for having ever been constant in his career of advancing me. From a private gentlewoman he made me a Marquess, from a Marquess, he made me a Queen and now that he has no higher degree of honour to give me, he gives my innocence the sainted crown of martyrdom."_

_There was a shocked silence at her words. Beside me, Henry whistled._

"_The King's not going to like that."_

"_No." I agreed. "He's not. But Anne might just have created her own lifeline. Get my sister Mary to Court and get us both an audience with the King!"_

"_How do you expect me to do that?" Henry gasped._

"_I don't care how you do it. Just do it!" I hissed, before pulling myself free, embracing Henry with a whispered promise that I would return to his side soon, as soon as it was all over and following my sister, my Queen, as she swept from the courtroom._

* * *

_Two days later, I found myself standing outside His Majesty's presence chamber, waiting for an audience. _

_Just as I was about to go in, Mary came rushing up. "Sister!"_

"_Mary!" I pulled her to me in a hug. "Henry got in touch with you then?"_

"_Of course he did, Nora. That's why I'm here."_

"_Then you understand what's at stake; what we're fighting for?"_

_Mary nodded, drawing herself up as the guard standing by the door gave us the nod, flinging the door wide and announcing "Lady Eleanor Brandon, Countess of Lincoln and Lady Mary Stafford to see you, Your Majesty."_

_The two of us walked forward and, for a moment, I was reminded of my very first day at Court. My heart had been hammering in my chest then, just as fast and hard as it was now._

_Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mary drop to the floor in a curtsy and followed suit._

"_Your Majesty!"_

"_Well? What do you want?"_

"_We have come before you, Sire, to implore you to spare our brother and sister. We realise that our sister has displeased you and that you wish to replace her as Queen, but must they die? Can you not still spare them?" Mary pleaded._

"_After all, my liege, sparing them would earn you a reputation as a leading champion of justice. Would that not be a fine thing for the King of England to be? I understand that you need an heir; a Prince of Wales for England and that you wish nothing more than for him to be accepted and loved by the people; it is only natural, but is killing 6 of your closest courtiers, four of whom are also well-liked and respected outside of Court, really the best way to go about it? There are rumours that killing Anne and the others would make them martyrs; strengthen her cause. Surely that is the last thing you want?" I chimed in, before realising that Mary could in fact handle the King far better than I could and falling silent to let her continue._

"_Annul your marriage to my – our - sister and strip them of their titles, by all means, but please, let her live. Let them all live. Banish them to the country; abroad if needs be; if that's what would make you more comfortable and then no one would ever be able to doubt the fact that you are a free man, able to marry whoever you wish to make your Queen." Mary crooned. _

_The King shook his head slightly. "Why are you here for them, Marian? Lady Eleanor I can understand, but why are you here? What have they ever done for you?"_

"_They don't need to have done anything for me. They are my beloved brother and sister and that in itself is reason enough for me to be here."_

"_Loyalty is a gift too precious to squander to go unrewarded." the King murmured, brushing a lock of golden hair out of Mary's eyes. "Sweet Marian."_

_Withdrawing his hand abruptly, he waved us off, but we had scarcely gone half a dozen paces towards the door before his voice stopped me in my tracks. "Lady Eleanor? Whatever happens, I admire your courage in coming to me."_

"_Wild horses couldn't have kept me away, my Lord." I replied, for once speaking the truth completely wholeheartedly._

"_Anne's daughter. Elizabeth. I'm entrusting her to your care. I trust you'll instil the same values into her?"_

_My heart leapt. In his desire to get Elizabeth away from Court and out from under his nose; buried in the country where the little girl could grow up practically forgotten, the King was unknowingly blessing Anne's dearest wish – to have me care for my niece and goddaughter, our little Howard Princess._

_Schooling my face to remain impassive and unreadable, I fell to the floor in another curtsy._

"_I'll do my best to, Your Grace. You may be sure of that."_

_Grunting something incoherent, King Henry waved me away. I left him, heart singing._

_My brother and sister might not have been spared or promised a pardon, which had been my original goal in going to Court, but Anne's darling Elizabeth had been entrusted to me. Her welfare was secured, no matter what. Anne would thank me from the bottom of her heart for this, there was no doubt about it._


	40. Farewell Anna Regina

**AN**_**:**_** So it's finally come to this. Anne's execution. If you've stuck with me since the beginning, then thank you so much. I only hope I do this justice. And Marissa, you're the one who suggested the next twist in the story arc, so thanks a million! R and R please!**

_Chapter 40_

_Farewell Anna Regina_

**19 May 1536**

_I woke early that fateful morning and I couldn't go back to sleep. It was hardly surprising, though. Who could have slept on, knowing, as I did, what the day meant for their sister?_

_As I went past the looking glass on my way out of the door, I realised how terrible I looked. The weeks of terror and the almost ceaseless tears since George's death two days earlier had taken their toll on me. My eyes were moist, tender and swollen. My hair was wild; unkempt. My skin, usually as pale and smooth as fresh cream, was blotchy and roughened by grief._

"_I can't go out like this." I spoke aloud, startling myself_

"_Disgraced we Boleyns may be, but until Anne is dead, we are still royalty. I must act and look as befits the Queen's sister."_

_Bathing my face in rose-scented water and rubbing some cream into it restored the worst of the ravages to their ordinary state and braiding up my hair soon hid just quite how unkempt it really was. Satisfied, I went outside, hoping that a breath of fresh air would steel me for what was about to happen._

* * *

_It didn't really. In fact, it only served to horrify me, for the little square around Anne's scaffold was already thick with people, even this early in the morning. And when I returned to Anne's rooms to prepare her for her final public appearance, a further shock awaited me._

"_So Elizabeth…"_

"_Yes, Madam. Elizabeth is to be declared a bastard. I am so sorry to have to grieve you further, but I felt you ought to know."_

_At the sound of Cranmer's voice, I froze in the doorway. As though made of stone, I saw Anne's knees buckle; heard her broken whisper "Oh God. Lisabelle. Sweet Jesus. Lisabelle."_

_Margaret caught my sister as she crumpled, soothed her with kindly murmurs and reminders that she, Mary and I would look after the now Lady Elizabeth. In short, she performed my role._

_Cranmer too, tried to calm Anne, assuring her that he would look out for Elizabeth's best interests and do his best to keep the child always in His Majesty's good graces._

_Under their combined ministrations, Anne began to calm down and, before long, Margaret and I were able to send Cranmer away and change her into the clothes that she herself had chosen for this day._

_A gown of dark grey damask with a wide white collar and a hood of grey-trimmed black velvet encrusted with tiny seed pearls._

_Under the hood, Anne's beautiful black hair was pinned up beneath a cap of white French lace to stop the executioner's sword catching on it as it bit through her neck._

_Once she was dressed, Anne retreated to the pre dieu in her bedchamber and prayed fervently, though she never once said a single word that might suggest that she was seeking divine forgiveness for her sins. That only reinforced my own knowledge that she was innocent._

_Fresh tears came to my eyes and I had to wipe them away. Why her? Why my beloved sister? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair and everyone knew it. Everyone knew it, but no one wanted to defy the King. As we were all learning fast, it could be deadly dangerous to stand in the way of the King and his desires._

* * *

"_My Lady?" There was a knock at the door and Sir William Kingston's voice. I nodded to Margaret. "You get the door. I'll fetch my sister."_

_At her nod, I went through the door into the adjoining chamber._

"_Anne? Anne? It's time, Your Majesty."_

_Anne rose from her knees, turning to face me. Unlike me, who was barely hanging on to my self-control by the faintest of threads, she looked calm, confident, regal._

_Her eyes caught mine and instantly she read my despair and turmoil. In two strides, she was at my side, pulling me close into her arms. "Oh, Eleanor."_

"_I love you." I choked out._

"_And I love you. But please, no more tears, little sister. Not now, not today. Disgraced we Boleyns may be, but until that sword bites through my neck, we are still royalty, whatever Henry says. We need to act like it." Anne murmured, unconsciously echoing my thoughts earlier that morning. _

_I nodded. Anne took her famous B pendant from the dresser in front of her._

"_I'm giving this to you. After all, it's only right that a Boleyn wears it. Your surname's Brandon now. You can get away with it."_

"_No. Anne, keep it. It's yours. Father gave it to you."_

"_What use is it to me when I'm dead? I'll give it to you on the scaffold and I want you to put it on up there. Please. If I'm to die, I want to die knowing you're wearing it." _

_Anne stretched out her hand to me and I placed mine on top of hers. "I promise."_

"_Then let's go. We mustn't keep the crowds waiting._

_Anne turned for the door for the last time and, for the last time, I followed._

* * *

_Anne climbed the steps of the scaffold with determined grace. As she reached the top, the executioner knelt before her._

"_I beg your forgiveness for what I am about to do."_

"_I forgive you with a free and empty heart." Anne replied, pressing his fee into his hand and blessing him._

_While the exchange was taking place, we ladies attending Anne filed on to the scaffold behind her. As I mounted the steps, I brushed past the executioner's lad._

"_It's the first execution I've ever attended upon, my lady!" he whispered to me as he dipped his head in a bow._

_I chanced a glance at him. His eyes were burning with a terrible kind of excitement._

_His behaviour and words, however, did little more than earn him a cuff on the neck from Master Kingston, who happened to overhear – I was so wound up that words, no matter what they were, could hardly cause me any more discomfort._

"_Fool! That young woman is the prisoner's sister! She doesn't need you making things worse for her!"_

_I heard the words of Master Kingston's scolding, but I barely registered them. Anne was stepping forward to make the customary speech and my every fibre was on heightened alert, so finely attuned was I to her every move, every breath, by now._

"_Good Christian people, I have come here to die, according to the law, for by the law I am judged to die and therefore I will speak nothing against it. But I pray God will save the King and send him long to reign over you, for there never was a gentler nor a more merciful Prince. To me, too, he was always a good and gentle sovereign lord, of that I may assure you._

_And if anyone seeks to meddle with my cause, I beseech them to judge me as fairly as they can. Thus I take my leave of the world and of you all. I beg and desire you all to pray for me."_

_Formalities over, Anne turned to us women behind her. She embraced each of us in turn and handed us a gift. She gave her prayer book to Margaret and her girdle to Lady Kingston, whispering a last message to each of them._

_When it was my turn, however, she merely unclasped her renowned necklace, passing it to me wordlessly. A final glance passed between us and that look was worth a thousand words._

_I shut the clasp of the pendant and filed off the scaffold behind Margaret to join my husband._

_As I watched, Anne knelt to the ground. I knelt as well, both in a gesture of sympathy and as a final mark of respect to my Queen. Henry looked askance at me, but followed suit. _

_And, one by one, so did the others surrounding the scaffold so that, before long, the whole crowd was on their knees before my sister._

_The briefest of smiles flitted across Anne's lovely face at the sight as she murmured "To Christ I commend my soul. Jesus, receive my soul."_

_Then, the executioner called for his sword to distract my sister and, with a flash of terrifyingly cold brightness, the blade came down._

_It sliced through Anne's slender neck as though it was merely the stem of a fragile wildflower. The lifeblood – my sister's lifeblood – gushed out in one great spurt of scarlet. A spurt so great that I had to avert my eyes._

_It was over._

_My sister, Anna-Maria Jane Boleyn, the woman who had been born a Knight's daughter; who had risen to the greatest dizzying heights of power, royal power, was dead._

* * *

_Dead, but not even permitted the honour of a proper coffin. My sister, who had once been the centre of England's glittering Court, who had been crowned and anointed Queen of England, Ireland and France and with St Edward's Crown, no less, was rushed under the ground in a gabbled service, her head and body crammed together in an old arrow chest, which had been all we could find to fit the purpose at such short notice._

_It was only the final injustice in a string of injustices done her, yet, strong as I had remained throughout all the others, this one finally broke my heart. Despite my promise to Anne mere hours earlier, tears were flowing openly down my cheeks as I supervised the soldiers filling in the grave; burying my sister across the aisle from our precious brother. As they finished, I collapsed to my knees without even realising it. My legs simply gave way beneath me._

"_She deserves more than this!" I wept, even as Henry dismissed the soldiers and knelt behind me to take me into his arms._

"_I know. I know you feel that way, but, to be honest, with the mood the King's been in recently, you should be grateful that he allowed her to be buried on consecrated holy ground and didn't burn her at the stake as a witch."_

"_But…she just deserves so much more. She deserves to be buried as a Marquess at the very least. With 28 young girls carrying tapers. One for every year of her life. To have Masses said for her soul. To have lain in state like your mother; as befits a…"_

"_Shh, my love. Shh." Henry cut me off before I could say the dangerous word "Queen"._

"_I know it's hard, I know it is, but you have to be quiet. You have to hold your head high and suffer in silence. You can't grieve for your sister in public, especially not in London. You know what King Henry would think. If you don't watch out, you'll be joining her and what do you think Anne would say to that? She's counting on you to look after Elizabeth."_

_Henry's voice was soft and kind, but it had a hard edge to it, one that recalled me to my duties, although I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into his arms and just weep and weep until I had bled myself dry of tears. Instead, however, I merely turned in his arms and clutched his hands._

"_Then take me away, Henry. Take me away somewhere I __**can **__grieve for my sister."_

"_Tattershall?"_

"_No." I spoke to contradict him almost before he had finished offering. "That's the first place they'll look for us, if they want to. I need somewhere they won't. I need to be able to grieve in peace."_

"_Then I'll have the children brought up from Tattershall. I think we'll both benefit from the comfort of their presence. Where do you want to go?"_

"_Northumberland. Alnwick Castle."_

"_Henry Percy's home?"_

"_Why not? He said we'd be more than welcome if we wanted to come."_

_Henry opened his mouth to protest, but then remembered what I'd already been through. He sighed._

"_Very well. If that's what you want. Let's go to Northumberland."_


	41. Alnwick

_Chapter 41_

_Alnwick_

_There was one more thing to be done before Henry and I fled to Northumberland, however. I had to claim the care of the now Lady Elizabeth for my own._

_To this end, I rode to Hatfield just two days after Anne's execution, desperate grief spurring me on. I knew no second could be lost now._

_Throwing Moonlight's reins at the nearest servant in the yard, I flung myself off my horse and strode straight into the castle, blind to the obeisances of the servants I passed._

_There was only one person in the world I cared to see right now. Little Elizabeth. If I could but see her, hold her, then perhaps I might convince myself that there was still something worth fighting for; that we Boleyns weren't quite lost after all._

_It was just as well I was as quite as determined as I was, for, as I reached the nursery door, I heard Lady Bryan say "Little girls have to do as they're told, __**Lady **__Elizabeth. You will not see your Mama again and that is that. Now hush or I shall hit you!"_

"_You will do no such thing, Lady Bryan." _

_My voice, cold and hard, rang out across the room, cutting off Elizabeth's slight whimpers and startling the older woman. Dropping her hand instantly to her side, she gasped "Lady Lincoln! I did not mean..."_

"_I know perfectly well what you meant. Give the Lady Elizabeth to me. I am to take charge of her now."_

"_You? Forgive me, but…I mean…"_

"_It is the King's own order, Lady Bryan. Do you seek to defy His Majesty? You know how dangerous that can be."_

_With Elizabeth in the room, I dared say no more, but it was enough. Lady Bryan stepped away with a murmur._

"_I'll see that her trunks are packed."_

"_Thank you."_

_Forgetting Lady Bryan the moment she left the room, I knelt at Elizabeth's side._

"_Hello, Lisabelle."_

"_Aunt Lenor!" Her little face lit up and she stretched out her arms for a hug. Smiling wanly, I sat down and lifted her on to my lap._

"_How are you?"_

"_Good! But…is it true Mama visit no more?"_

_Tears rose in my chest at the question and I was hard pressed to suppress them as I answered._

"_I'm afraid so, Lisabelle. Mama will miss you very much, but she's had to go and live with the angels so she won't be visiting anymore."_

"_But why? Was it me? Did she go and live with angels because me?"_

"_**No! **__It wasn't because of you. It could never have been because of you." Determined to get that straight in Elizabeth's head, I cupped her chin in my hand and tipped her head up to make her look at me._

"_Listen to me, Elizabeth Tudor. __You must never think that it was. __**Ever. **__Do you understand me? Your mama went because God called her and nothing else. All right?"_

_A flicker of confusion crossed Elizabeth's face. I held my breath. Who knew what she'd been told, or heard, before I got here? I prayed to God that she didn't know __**how **__her mother had died. She wasn't even three. Things were going to be hard enough for her without her having that sort of knowledge as well._

_Thankfully, however, she only asked "Is that why I Lady, no Princess?" allowing me to nod._

"_Yes, Lisabelle. But you are the Lady Elizabeth Tudor, now and forever. You are still King Henry's daughter. No one can change that." Kissing the smooth brow, I brushed a tendril of hair out of her eyes, trying not to show how much it hurt. _

_Looking Elizabeth in the eye was almost like staring at a mirror image of my sister's gaze._

"_What now? Aunt Lenor, what now?"_

_Elizabeth's quiet question startled me out of my reverie. Forcing myself to stay calm for her sake, I replied "I'm going to go a long way from here to visit an old friend of your Mama's. Your Mama told me to look after you, so you're coming too."_

"_Coming too?" she repeated, clearly struggling with the idea. "Long way from here?"_

"_Yes. To visit an old friend of your Mama's. Would you like that?"_

_There was a moment's hesitation; then she nodded, laying her little hand in mine trustingly._

_Nudging her off my lap, I stood up before taking her on to my hip. "Come on, then, Lisabelle."_

_We left Hatfield within the hour._

* * *

_It was already dusk when we reached Alnwick a few days later. I got out of the carriage carrying Elizabeth, who was more than half-asleep in my arms. The days of constant travelling had worn her out and, spirited and playful though she could be, she was more than happy to be cradled in my arms as I stood by my husband's side, who was trying to talk Henry Percy's steward into believing that his master had indeed invited us to stay at Alnwick if we needed or wanted to._

"_Forgive me, My Lord Lincoln, but you must see that to arrive here so late, with no one save yourselves and the child…My master is not a well man. I would prefer to take no chances."_

"_Master…"_

"_Andrew, Sir. Andrew Smythe."_

"_Andrew. I know it is late, but we have ridden hard. My wife is exhausted. She has had a hard time of it lately. And the child is suffering too. Will you not at least try to speak to your Master? For their sakes?"_

_Glancing towards me where I stood holding Elizabeth, Andrew half-bowed, still reluctant, but prepared to try._

"_Wait here, please. I will see if my master has finished dining."_

_He disappeared and Henry placed his hand over mine as it rested on Elizabeth's back._

"_All will be well, sweetheart."_

_I nodded, though, in truth, I scarcely heard his words. All was not well at all. It couldn't be. Not with Anne so recently deceased._

_Sensing my turmoil, Henry reached for Elizabeth._

"_Here. Let me take her, love."_

_Just as I was about to relinquish Elizabeth to his hold, Andrew reappeared, the housekeeper bustling along in his wake._

"_My Master will see you and your wife, Lord Lincoln. Mrs Jugson will take the child and see that she is taken care of."_

_At first, I was unwilling to hand Elizabeth over to such a stranger, but the touch of Henry's touch on my arm and his reassuring smile when I glanced at him recalled me to my senses. If I could trust Henry Percy, then I could trust his staff._

_Tenderly, I placed Elizabeth in Mrs Jugson's arms. It was a mark of how tired she was that Elizabeth didn't protest at the movement, not even when I walked away, my arm through Henry's, setting my jaw for what was to come._

_As it turned out, however, I didn't need to say anything, because Henry Percy knew. One look at my face and he knew._

_Kissing my hand and offering his condolences, he had me escorted to a bedchamber where I could rest while he talked to my husband._

_Normally, I would have protested, hating to be left out of things, but today I couldn't care less. Loosening my stays, I sank on to the bed and let the tears, tears I had stifled ever since Anne's funeral, flow freely down my cheeks._

* * *

_I barely left the room for the next few days. If I did, it was to visit Elizabeth in the suite that Henry Percy had set aside for her use._

_Only with her did my heart lighten a little. Everywhere else, Anne was the only thing on my mind, but, when I was with Elizabeth, I managed to lose myself in her obvious resilience and smile at her innocent play._

_One day, while watching her at her games, I became determined not to let her forget her mother, to become brainwashed by the lies and slander that she would hear everywhere else around her. I decided to write down everything that had happened to my sister, from the moment that we first met as girls at Hever, all those years ago, to the moment her beautiful raven head was removed from her neck by the bite of cold steel. That way, slander or no slander, the truth would always be known._

_Resolution still fresh in my mind, I sent for quill, ink and parchment at once. _

_Ten minutes later, the door opened and Henry Percy walked in, bearing the items that I had asked for._

"_My Lord!" I jumped up to relieve him of his burdens. "You are most kind, but I did not mean that you should have to bring them yourself."_

"_No, but I met the servant in the passage outside and I was curious as to what you wanted them for."_

"_Oh. I was going to…" I trailed off, unsure of exactly what to say._

"_Going to what?" Henry Percy prompted gently._

"_Write down exactly what happened to Anne. All of it, I mean. How she met the King, how he rid himself of Katherine, how she married him…and how she died."_

"_For Elizabeth's sake?" he asked, glancing towards the little girl who played by the other window, utterly absorbed in the doll that Mrs Jugson had found for her._

"_Aye." The word came out as a deeply heartfelt sigh. "I don't want her to forget her mother."_

_As I spoke, my hand went instinctively to the golden B that I wore around my neck._

"_I could help you, Lady Eleanor." _

_His offer startled me. I hadn't thought anyone, save perhaps my husband, would understand what I wanted to do._

"_Help me, Sir Henry?"_

"_I know you were an awful lot younger than Anne."_

"_Seven years." I murmured, but he continued as though I hadn't spoken. "I know you don't know everything that happened to her before you went to Court yourself. If you want me to tell you what she was like when I first knew her, then I'd be more than willing."_

"_I'd like that." I offered him a small smile and then we sat in companionable silence until he heaved himself to his feet._

"_I'd better be going. I have some audiences to hear."_

"_Of course." I nodded and let him go, though he was only halfway to the door before he turned around again._

"_Oh, before I forget, Lady Eleanor, I've given your husband permission to send for your children. He thinks it would be good for Elizabeth."_

_Though Henry Percy was too tactful to say "and for you.", we both knew he meant it and it hung in the air between us until I found the strength to reply._

"_Thank you."_

_Amazingly, despite the way my heart leapt at the thought of seeing Margaret, George and Anne again, I managed to keep my voice calm. _

_As soon as he was gone, however, I flew back to my bedchamber and found the latest reports I had received from their nurse. I hadn't seen them since before Christmas, before the fateful joust, before everything that had happened. That was over six months ago. They would have changed so much!_

* * *

_Two days later, it was finally time for them to arrive. I was in a fever of impatience and the moment I heard hooves on the driveway, I flew down the stairs and out to greet my children._

"_Mama!" Margaret and George tumbled out of the carriage, each striving to be the one who greeted me first._

_I swept George up into my arms and twirled him around before seating him on my shoulders and doing the same to Margaret, who, remembering me more clearly, clung to me even more fiercely than her brother had done._

_Gently setting her down and unwinding her arms from my legs, I turned to the nurse who was climbing out of the carriage holding my youngest daughter, the Lady Anne Frances Brandon._

_I had to step back to take in how much my baby girl had grown in the last six months. She was 13 months old now and she looked every day of it._

_Letting out my breath in one great rush, I reached for her, setting her on my hip._

"_Hello, Annie." _

_I heard a low chuckle behind me and turned to see my husband and Henry Percy standing in the doorway, watching me greet my children._

"_You look like you've got your hands full, darling." Henry flashed me a smile as he took a couple of steps forward into the sunlit courtyard._

"_Papa!" Margaret ran towards him gleefully, demanding a warmly loving kiss and embrace. She got what she wanted, of course. She always did. Henry could never resist her._

_For my part, as I followed her somewhat more sedately, George clinging tightly to my hair and Anne safely straddling my hip, I felt my heart, which had been so shattered by my older sister's demise, take its first step on the long slow road to healing._


	42. Letting Go

_Chapter 42_

_Letting Go_

_Having Margaret, George and Anne around was good for Elizabeth as well. Since she'd found out about her mother's death, she'd been quiet and withdrawn, not like her usual self at all, but the moment I introduced them, Margaret broke through that newly-created shell, hugging her younger cousin excitedly and saying "Hello, Elizabeth. I'm so happy to see you."_

_I could see Elizabeth warming to my little girl, who was the first person, except for me who had openly shown her affection since her mother died, but still, I remained on the sidelines, ready to intervene and support little Elizabeth if she needed it._

_She didn't, however. Margaret's joyful exuberance swept her along and, when George snatched the doll that Mrs Jugson had given her; the doll that had scarcely left her arms for days, she lost no time in turning around, snatching it back and declaring "Rosy mine! You mean, Georgie! I no play with you no more!" before stalking off with her arm through Margaret's, every inch as righteously arrogant as both her mother and father could be._

_I ought to have scolded her; scolded them both, but I was just so glad to see even just a flash of her ordinary spirit that I just raised my eyebrows at the nurse and went back to rolling a ball across the floor with Anne, who, upon realising that her older siblings both adored me, had relaxed around me almost instantly._

_And when Henry Percy came and found me, wondering if I wanted to work on the narrative for Elizabeth, I had no qualms about kissing them all, promising to be back later to see them all into bed and leaving the four of them in the care of their nurse and a couple of maids._

* * *

_I shouldn't have thought that my leaving the nursery wouldn't have sparked Margaret's curiosity though. She was far too inquisitive for that._

_When I went in to kiss her good night, I found her sitting up, wide awake in the dim light of the candle that flickered by her bed._

"_Lie down, Margaret. Come on, it's getting late. You've had a long day already."_

"_But Mama..."_

"_No. Come on, lie down. I'll answer your questions when you're lying down." I whispered, only too aware of Anne, George and Elizabeth sleeping on the other side of the room._

_Obediently, Margaret lay down and let me pull the covers up over her. I sat down on the end of her bed._

"_All right. Now what do you want to know?"_

"_Why did we have to come to Alnwick? Why are you looking after another little girl? Why do you and Papa look so sad sometimes? What are you doing with the man who came to our nursery today? He mentioned a book – what did he mean?"_

"_That's a lot of questions for such a little girl." I teased, in order to buy myself time. How to explain all that had happened to Margaret, who, after all, was not yet six years old?_

"_I know, but I'm not little. I'm five years old. Beth, George and Annie are little. They're not even three." Margaret informed me self-importantly, causing me to chuckle at her vanity. She was so like her aunt at times, it was almost unbelievable. I could see myself in her too¸ mind. She was most definitely a Boleyn through and through. Not least in the way she pounced on my chuckle._

"_Tell me, Mama. Please. I want to know."_

"_All right, all right. Well, you know that my older sister, your aunt Anne, is the Queen, don't you?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Well, not long ago, King Henry decided that he didn't want to be married to her any more."_

"_That's horrible!" Margaret's beautiful blue-green eyes went wide._

"_It is horrible, darling, but that's what happened and, because he was the King, no one stopped him. That's why Papa and_ _I are taking care of Elizabeth and why we're so sad, because none of us will ever see the old Queen ever again. It's also why I'm making the book with Henry Percy. It's a book about Elizabeth's Mama, so that she'll never forget her. Do you understand now?"_

_Margaret nodded._

"_I'll be extra nice to Beth now, Mama. And you don't need to be so sad any more. I'll help you." Sitting up, Margaret wrapped her little arms around me._

_I rested my chin on the crown of her head for a moment, before disengaging myself from her hold._

"_Thank you, sweetheart. You can start by getting some sleep. Goodnight."_

"_Good night, Mama."_

_I kissed her forehead, blew out the candle and then left the room, making sure to leave the door ajar so as to allow some light into the room._

* * *

_Months passed and the seven of us settled into a comfortable sort of routine at Alnwick. My husband would help Henry Percy with his affairs in the morning while I played with the children and taught them their lessons and then, after lunch, which we all took together because Henry Percy liked to have the children around him, even though they tired him out, either I would take Henry's place in the study and we would work on our memoirs for Elizabeth, or Henry and I would call for our horses and ride out over the fields, as we had done so often during our courtship and the early days of our marriage._

_It wasn't heaven; heaven would have meant turning back the clock and changing history so that Anne was now the Lady of Alnwick and mother to a strong heir, as well as several pretty daughters, who played with their cousins in the hallways when we came to visit and ran wild on the moors of Northumberland._

_So no, it wasn't heaven, but it was peaceful and it acted as a wonderful tonic to my conflicting whirlwind of emotions._

_But no peace can last forever, particularly not if you're a Boleyn. It's just not in our nature._

_The safe haven Henry and I had created for ourselves was rudely shattered when, one morning, we were woken by Mrs Jugson hammering on our door, sobbing brokenly that her master had died in his sleep._

_Henry and I glanced at one another, sharing a quick look of grieving resignation._

_To be honest, the news was hardly unexpected. It had been clear to both of us that the Earl of Northumberland's health had been failing more and more rapidly for the last couple of months. It had only been a matter of time._

"_I'll write to James and Grace; tell them to prepare for us all coming home." Henry murmured, pecking me on the cheek before sliding out of bed and beginning to dress._

_Nodding, I called "All right Mrs Jugson. Send someone for a priest, I'll be right out. And will you see to it that Sir Henry's brother is informed, please? As the new Earl, he ought to be here."_

"_Yes, my Lady Lincoln." The relief at having been given something to do was clear in Mrs Jugson's voice as she walked away. I listened to her footsteps retreating and then rose to brush my hair and dress as sombrely as the occasion demanded. There would be a lot to do before we left Alnwick._

* * *

_Four days later, I stood on the opposite side of a fresh grave to the new Earl and his wife and children, watching as a polished oak casket vanished into the ground. The priest pronounced the final blessing and then the family moved forward to throw their flowers on to the casket and say their last farewells. Sir Thomas Percy extended a hand to me, offering to let me go forward with them, but I shook my head. It was their moment, not mine. Besides which, I wanted to be alone when I said my goodbyes._

_Understanding, Sir Thomas nodded and led his family back to the castle, leaving my husband and I alone by the grave, the children playing in the churchyard behind us._

_Kneeling, I offered up a prayer, not only for the soul of the man who had opened his home to me despite his poor health, but also for the soul of the boy who had adored my older sister for so long and had helped me so much for just the sake of her memory._

_God bless you, Henry Percy. May you be rewarded for your kindness to me and mine and may you be happy with my sister, now that you have found each other again in Heaven."_

_Rising, I threw a posy of wild lilies, Anne's favourite flower, on the grave and rose. "Rest in peace, my Lord Northumberland." _

_As I spoke, Henry came up behind me. "Shall we go home, my love?" "Yes. Let's go home." _

_I turned to take his arm, but he slipped it around my waist instead, holding me close, as, together, we went to gather the children from where they played in the churchyard and to ride for Tattershall.  
_


	43. Epilogue: Duke and Duchess

_Epilogue  
Duke and Duchess_

**Christmas 1545**

"_Eleanor, come on, my love! We mustn't keep his Majesty waiting."_

_Henry puts his head around the door of our bedchamber and I start at his voice, spinning around at once. _

"_Coming!"_

_I smooth down my gown of fuchsia pink velvet; straighten the pendant I am wearing. It is the Boleyn pendant, of course. I wear nothing else these days. _

_Entering the room behind me, Henry rests a hand on my shoulder. _

"_You look stunning, My Lady Duchess. Duchess of Suffolk and the Summer Sun." _

"_Thank you, Your Grace." I reply, still unused to how the words roll off my tongue. Henry's father only died in August. This is our first Court appearance as the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk. _

"_But I __**want **__to escort Margaret!" _

"_Well, you can't! You're too young. __**I'm**__ doing it, because __**I'm **__the Earl of Lincoln."_

_The sounds of our sons' raised voices shatter our tender moment. Raising our eyes to heaven, we stride out to the antechamber to sort them out. _

"_George! William! Stop it! We've told you, we want you paired up by age. It has nothing to do with who is Earl of Lincoln and who is not. You know that doesn't matter to us. Now, take your places, and for God's sake, behave, or I'll give you a thrashing you'll never forget. I mean it. You're members of the House of Suffolk and I expect you to act like it." _

_Henry's voice is uncharacteristically harsh, but it has the desired effect. The boys fall into step in their respective places, George by Margaret, William by Anne, without another word, though our youngest, 7 year old William, still looks sour. _

_There was once a time when our sons got on well, when William idolised his older brother but ever since their grandfather died, he has envied George's new position as Earl of Lincoln and they fight like terrier dogs. It is like the old rivalry between Mary and Anne all over again and I often thank God that my daughters are not like my sisters once were. _

_But now there is no more time to worry about that. We have reached the Great Hall where we are to be presented to the King and his newest wife, yet another Queen Katherine. _

_God, this is Henry Tudor's sixth wife! After my sister, he married his infatuation Jane Seymour and begot his longed for heir off her, before she died just a year and a half into their marriage. _

_His next wife was another Anne, whom he married for political reasons, not love. When my lovely cousin Kitty danced into his life, wild and half ruined by four years at Lambeth, he rid himself of his Flanders mare in a heartbeat. _

_Little Kitty, wild though she was, entranced him for almost two years until the day he found that she, drunk on her own power and tired of sharing the bed of a man almost old enough to be her grandfather, had cuckolded him behind his back. _

_I blame myself, of course. I was the one responsible for sending her away. If I hadn't, if I had taken her in instead, I might have found her a better match. A lesser match, true, but a happier one. She might not have died on the cold, hard block after only 20 full years of life. King Henry might have had four or five wives instead of six. _

_All of these thoughts flash through my head in the precious seconds while we wait to be announced._

_But I wipe my face of all emotion as the King's herald cries: "Sir Henry Brandon, Duke of Suffolk and Lady Eleanor Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk."_

_I know I'll be on show now. Everyone knows it is my first time at court since Anne's death. They are all watching to see how I react. _

_And, as the herald announces " Lord George Brandon, Earl of Lincoln and Lady Margaret Brandon", and "Lord William Brandon and Lady Anne Brandon", I know that those with children will be eyeing up my children. As heirs and heiresses to the greatest peerage in the land, they will be highly sought after in the marriage market. _

_And, in Margaret's case at least, it is high time we entered into open negotiations for betrothal. After all, she is fourteen, almost fifteen. I cannot keep her my little girl forever. _

_Henry and I reach the dais and I am pleased to see my niece seated beside the Queen, as she should be. Elizabeth left my care five years ago, when the second Howard girl, Kitty, mounted the throne; when she was at last allowed the household that should have been hers by right. _

_We have seen each other only rarely since, as she spends a great deal of time either at Court or visiting the Lady Mary at Hundson, but we are still fond of one another. _

_Flashing her a quick smile, I hear Henry say:_

"_Merry Christmas, Your Majesties." and sink into a curtsy, locking my gaze with that of King Henry's. _

_My back is ramrod straight. My head is up. My eyes, dark chips of sapphire, hook his Majesty's and refuse to let them go, as I sink to the floor and rise up again. Just like Anne's used to do. _

_There is a collective sharp intake of breath as I rise. _

_It takes all my self control not to allow a triumphant smile to slip onto my face, for, at that moment, I know I have done it. _

_I have shown them all, King and Court, that I am still the woman I used to be._

_I am still Eleanor Margaret Brandon, _nee_ Boleyn - Sister to the Queen!_


End file.
